Tar Heels, Hansbrough visit St. Louis

~ The former Poplar Bluff standout returns to Missouri as a bonafide college star.

ST. LOUIS -- One of the top Missouri recruits that got away is about to show fans in his home state what they're missing.

Tyler Hansbrough leads No. 2 North Carolina against St. Louis today. It's a game the Tar Heels' center, who is from Poplar Bluff, marked on his schedule before the season.

"I've thought about it a great amount," Hansbrough said Thursday. "A lot of people from my hometown have been talking about it and are going to make the drive.

"It's just a special game for me."

North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough slam-dunked against Florida Atlantic during their game Tuesday in Chapel Hill, N.C. (GERRY BROOME ~ Associated Press)

It's big for St. Louis (9-2), too. The Billikens are coming off a 51-50 victory over Missouri State on Monday, achieved on a tip-in at the buzzer by center Ian Vouyoukas, and are looking to take some momentum into the start of Atlantic-10 Conference play.

Missouri State (9-2) was among the top teams also receiving votes in this week's Top 25.

"These are heavyweights and I'm thankful we snuck out a win," coach Brad Soderberg said. "I'm hopeful we can play our best game on Friday, because needless to say that's going to be a prerequisite."

North Carolina (9-1) topped the century mark for the fourth time this season with a 105-52 rout of Florida Atlantic on Monday, leading by a school-record 47 points at halftime. Hansbrough had 20 points in that game.

There will be more pressure this time around, with a contingent from Poplar Bluff making the trip up state for what is likely to be a sellout for St. Louis. He wants to put on a good show.

"It will be a disappointment for me if I go there and play bad in front of everybody," Hansbrough said. "It's one of those games where I'm going to have to concentrate on the game instead of outside things, with all my friends being there and family and things."

Hansbrough leads North Carolina in both scoring (19 points) and rebounding (7.6), and is shooting 56 percent. Coach Roy Williams has to laugh at those who suggest he's struggling, noting that he's improved his judgment when facing double- or triple-teaming, electing to pass to open teammates.

"I'm dumbfounded by how people are saying we're worried about Tyler," Williams said. "The only number that's not up is field goal percentage.

"It's almost comical when people wonder about Tyler's struggling."

Williams thought Hansbrough was the "perfect player" for North Carolina when he was recruiting him, and that opinion has not changed. He doesn't think Hansbrough will have much trouble dealing with the distractions.

"He does have tremendous ability to focus," Williams said. "It will be interesting to see, but I expect him to handle it better than anybody around."

Saint Louis led by three at halftime last December in Chapel Hill, N.C., before Hansbrough scored 17 of his 21 points the rest of the way in a 75-63 victory. Hansbrough will again be challenged by 6-10 Ian Vouyoukas, leading a team that has NCAA tournament aspirations.

"I see a better team," Williams said. "I hate to say that; we were down to them at halftime in our building last year."

Against Missouri State, St. Louis might have been helped by a discrepancy or delay in a TV feed used to determine whether Vouyoukas' winning basket, in which he hoisted a desperation air ball by Tommie Liddell, was indeed in time. In any case, the Billikens had a strong rally in that game after trailing by 11 with 9:28 to go.

Saint Louis plays another strong team, Mississippi, on Saturday night. It's part of Soderberg's strategy to build his team's profile.

"We're not in a BCS conference like Missouri for example, and they're going to play Texas and Oklahoma and Kansas and their RPI gets bumps every time they play those people," Soderberg said. "We told [the players] in the summer we're going to give you a schedule that's going to be a beast."