ST. LOUIS — North Carolina coach Roy Williams said here on Thursday that he has a “strong, strong inclination” that Kendall Marshall will not play for the Tar Heels when they face Ohio on Friday night in the NCAA tournament Midwest regional semifinals.

Marshall suffered a broken right wrist during UNC’s 87-73 victory against Creighton on Sunday in Greensboro. He underwent surgery on Monday to repair a fractured scaphoid bone in his right wrist.

Marshall had his cast removed on Wednesday, but he has continued to wear a splint.

CHAPEL HILL —  North Carolina coach Roy Williams spent part of his weekly radio show on Monday night explaining that he didn’t know whether Kendall Marshall would play on Friday night, that Williams wouldn’t know.

Yet on Tuesday when Williams met with reporters, he kept receiving variations of the same question: Might Marshall be available when UNC plays Ohio in the NCAA tournament Midwest regional semifinals?

CHAPEL HILL — From my stool at the bar at Top of the Hill where, as always, I enjoyed a nice crisp sweet tea on Monday while taking in Roy Williams Live. The highlights:

Tar Heel coach Roy Williams discusses forward John Henson's wrist injury after Norht Carolina's 85-69 win over Maryland.

It’s no secret that North Carolina and Duke are vastly different offensive teams. The Tar Heels want to work the ball inside, where they feel they have an advantage with post players Tyler Zeller and John Henson.

The Blue Devils, meanwhile, want to shoot a lot of 3-pointers – a team strength given they have many quality shooters. The difference between the Heels and Devils manifested itself in a large way during Duke’s 85-84 victory against UNC at the Smith Center on Feb. 8.

During that game, Duke attempted 36 3-pointers, and made 14 of them. UNC, meanwhile, was just 1-for-6 from beyond the 3-point line. So the Blue Devils outscored the Tar Heels 42-3 on 3-pointers – an enormous differential that was the primary reason Duke remained alive in a game that UNC mostly dominated for 38 minutes.

UNC coach Roy Williams earlier today described the challenges of defending Duke’s perimeter offense. Williams charted each of Duke’s 36 3-point attempts during the first meeting between the teams. Here are his comments in full:

CHAPEL HILL — No. 6 North Carolina defeated Maryland 88-64 on Wednesday night at the Smith Center. A look back at the Tar Heels’ senior night victory: 

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina coach Roy Williams remembers with fondness the final time he played a basketball game at home in high school. He remembers his mom walking out on the court to meet him before the game, and he remembers the emotions that came along with the moment.

CHAPEL HILL — Three North Carolina-related things to consider on a gray Monday morning from Chapel Hill …

Three Points from N.C. State's 86-74 loss to UNC on Tuesday night:

1) N.C. State just got beat by a better team

North Carolina's a better than N.C. State, this is a point all sides of the Triangle can concede, and when the Tar Heels make 10 3-pointers and 50.9 percent of their shots, they're not going to lose to anybody this side of the NBA.

So really, it's only "One Point" today and a rehash of the Kendall Marshall vs. Lorenzo Brown matchup, which caused Marshall to call me out on Twitter last night.

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina Roy Williams said earlier today that the N.C. State team the Tar Heels will play on Tuesday night in Raleigh is far different than the one that suffered a 74-55 defeat against UNC at the Smith Center on Jan. 20.