MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Ty Lawson sat on the sideline with both feet propped up on a chair, shooting an occasional glance toward the court as his left ankle was re-taped.

He went back in the game a few moments later, but there was no rush. North Carolina had this one well under control.

Lawson scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half, and the top-seeded Tar Heels routed third-seeded Gonzaga, 98-77, in the South Regional last night. They'll play second-seeded Oklahoma tomorrow for a berth in the Final Four.

"If they play like that, they're going to win the national championship," Gonzaga's Josh Heytvelt said. "They'd hit every shot, it seemed like. You can't do anything on teams like that."

Tyler Hansbrough added 24 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina, which won its 99th NCAA tournament game, breaking a tie with Kentucky for the most by any school.

Wayne Ellington scored 19 points and Danny Green added 13 for the Tar Heels (31-4), who reached the regional finals for the third straight year. There was no jumping for joy afterward for this team — after losing to Kansas in the national semifinals last year, there was still work to do.

"It's a very happy, relaxed, calm locker room," coach Roy Williams said. "We'd like to stay here and play pretty well another day."

The only blemish for North Carolina in the first half — 9-of-18 free throw shooting that enabled the Zags (28-6) to stay in the game. Gonzaga cut the margin to single digits before Hansbrough scored inside just before the halftime buzzer to make it 53-42.

OKLAHOMA 84, SYRACUSE 71

Blake Griffin saw 6-foot Jonny Flynn plant his feet near the basket, trying to draw a charge near the end of the first half. So Oklahoma's bullish power forward changed his plans.

Oh, he still drove through Flynn, flattening the point guard. The change came as Griffin switched from another thundering dunk to a simple layup — and when a blocking foul was called, he got the added bonus of a free throw.

"I was hoping it went in our favor," Griffin said.

Griffin scored 30 points and had 14 rebounds in his usual dangerous game for Oklahoma. This time, he got some help as Tony Crocker added a career-high 28 points, and the second-seeded Sooners (30-5) beat the Orange (28-10) to advance to their first regional final since 2003.

And all that talk of an All-Big East Final Four? That's over with now. Syracuse was the league's lone representative left in the South Region.

"Oklahoma's a very, very good basketball team," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "And when Griffin's been healthy, they've been very difficult to beat."

Flynn led Syracuse with 22 points despite playing the second half with a bruised back after that crunching collision with Griffin. Andy Rautins added 12.