Mason Plumlee and Amile Jefferson celebrate Duke's return to the Sweet 16. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

PHILADELPHIA—The Blue Devils and the Bluejays spent all day waiting for their third-round game, which tipped at 9:40 p.m.

The much-vaunted offenses, though, never showed up.

In a game that featured more fouls than field goals, it was the Blue Devils that prevailed, collecting a 66-50 victory to send the program back to the Sweet 16.

The 50 points for the Bluejays represented their lowest output for the season. Creighton was whistled for 26 fouls and made just 16 field goals.

“There’s different flows to games,” Ryan Kelly said, “And that was not the one that anyone expected.”

Updated 10:03 p.m.

KANSAS CITY — What saved North Carolina’s season also doomed it in the end. The Tar Heels, who had shot so well recently, went cold from the perimeter against one of the best defensive teams in the nation and suffered a season-ending 70-58 defeat against Kansas on Sunday night in the third round of the NCAA tournament.

This is what UNC coach Roy Williams feared when he changed his strategy midseason and began using a four-guard starting lineup. Before making that change, Williams said he didn’t want the Tar Heels to be a team that lived by the 3-pointer and died by it.

But the Heels’ perimeter offense often gave them life during the past six weeks. It extinguished it on Sunday.

Creighton's Ethan Wragge's foul on Kendall Marshall in the 2012 NCAA Tournament resulted in the Tar Heels' point guard breaking his wrist. Duke's Quinn Cook hadn't made the connection between that play and the Blue Devils' third-round opponent. Credit: ROBERT WILLITT

PHILADELPHIA—At least one person hadn't made the connection between Creighton's Ethan Wragge and the 2012 Kendall Marshall wrist injury.

"Oh that was them?" Quinn Cook said, with his eyes growing wide, as he was asked about the Bluejays' less-than-favorable reputation after that NCAA Tournament loss to North Carolina. Duke faces Creighton this year for the right to advance to the Sweet 16.

“Oh man," Cook said. "I’m going to text Kendall and ask him what they did so I can protect myself."

At this point, Cook started asking the questions to the media.

Both North Carolina’s best asset and most glaring liability played prominent roles on Friday night against Villanova. In the end, the Tar Heels ability to shoot from the perimeter outweighed their inability to rebound, and UNC escaped with an 78-71 victory in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

UNC coach Roy Williams made the mid-season switch to a smaller, four-guard starting lineup because he believed it would give his team its best chance to be successful. But he also understood that the lineup presented risks – especially against teams with size, and ones that rebound well.

The eighth-seeded Tar Heels (25-10) ability to shoot saved them on Friday inside the Sprint Center, after they surrendered a 20-point first-half lead. But their inability to rebound effectively nearly doomed them

DAYTON, Ohio — Mark Gottfried was as honest about N.C. State's problems after Friday's loss to Temple in the NCAA tournament as a coach could be.

Gottfried explained the issues with the Wolfpack, who closed out the 2012-13 season on Friday with a 76-72 loss to Temple.

N.C. State finished 24-11 and Friday's loss was symbolic of many of the same, reoccurring problems that derailed a season full of promise for the Wolfpack.

DAYTON, Ohio — This is where it ends for N.C. State, on the corner of disappointment and despair in Dayton.

A season that started with so much hope lasted only one NCAA tournament game. Temple, with 31 points from Khalif Wyatt, turned out the lights on N.C. State's season with a 76-72 win in the round of 64 on Friday afternoon.

There was no ACC title, as was predicted before the season started, nor was there another NCAA run for the Wolfpack (24-11), only season of missed opportunities.

Andrew Carter, Joe Giglio and Laura Keeley, The N&O’s three college beat writers, took a quick break Thursday to share some of their insights, opinions and favorite moments about the NCAA tournament:

Q: All 3 teams start Friday. How many make the Sweet 16?

Andrew Carter: One. Duke. North Carolina will have a difficult time against Villanova and even if the Tar Heels advance, it’s unlikely they get past Kansas, which basically will be playing a home game in Kansas City. N.C. State can’t be counted on to win two win consecutive games against mediocre competition, let alone the likes of Temple and Indiana. If Duke doesn’t make it to the Sweet 16, it’d be a disappointment.

Laura Keeley: Just one Triangle team survives for a second trip. Gonzaga is the only No. 1 seed I have losing this weekend in my bracket.

Joe Giglio: Just Duke. With a better seed or matchup, either N.C. State or North Carolina could have, but it’s hard to go against Kansas in their home state or Indiana, which is basically just a better version of N.C. State, against N.C. State.

Former N.C. State basketball coach Sidney Lowe's court date for tax evasion was rescheduled for May 29 on Tuesday.

Lowe was arrested last month in Wake County and charged for failure to file and pay state income tax in the years 2009, 2010 and 2011.

I went into the selection show with a list of 11 potential Final Four teams. Four of them ended up in the Midwest Region. Despite that depth of competition, I'm still sticking with Louisville as my champion, No. 1 overall seed or not.

They tick all the boxes: excellent defensively (No. 1 in the Pomeroy ratings); very good offensively (No. 15 in KenPom); experienced (in the Final Four a year ago); backcourt strength and depth in Russ Smith and Peyton Siva; coaching (Rick Pitino); and a secret weapon off the bench, one-time Virginia Tech recruit Montrezl Harrell of Tarboro.

They'll probably have to beat Missouri, St. Louis and either Michigan State or Duke just to get to the Final Four -- a tougher three-game run than any pair Indiana or Gonzaga is likely to face, just for the record -- but the Cardinals are capable.

Duke's Mason Plumlee joins a long list of Blue Devil all-Americans. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Mason Plumlee is a first-team all-ACC selection by the coaches and the media. Now, he has another descriptor he can add to his bio: All-American.

Plumlee was named a second-team all-American by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, which released its two teams Monday. Plumlee is the second Blue Devil to receive all-American honors this year, joining Seth Curry, a second team all-American selection by the Sporting News.