RALEIGH, N. C. - A perfectly horrible Razorback start led to a perfectly horrible Razorback finish against the nation's nearly perfect college basketball team playing nearly perfect.

North Carolina's Tar Heels, No. 1 in the nation and of course the No. 1 seed in the NCAA East Regional, stomped ninth-seeded Arkansas with a 51-26 first half en route to a 108-77 second-round victory Sunday afternoon at the RBC Center.

" North Carolina played a great game, and we couldn't do a whole lot to slow them down offensively or defensively, " said John Pelphrey, Arkansas' first-year coach.

The Hogs aren't the Lone Ranger in getting trounced by the Tar Heels.

" They would have beaten anyone the way they played today, " said Sonny Weems, Arkansas' senior small forward from West Memphis. " They are not the No. 1 team in the country for nothing. "

In his five years as point guard at Mississippi State and the last three at Arkansas, Gary Ervin said only Florida's 2006 and 2007 national championship teams compare with these Tar Heels.

" Florida did it two years, but this team does things you just don't see in transition, " Ervin said.

As top-seed, Carolina in Raleigh played just 30 minutes from its Chapel Hill campus, but the Tar Heels weren't relying on their blueclad fans.

" I don't think the environment was our problem, " Pelphrey said. " North Carolina was. "

It was the second worst NCAA Tournament loss in Razorback history behind the Oscar Robertson (50 points ) led Cincinnati Bearcats putting a 97-62 whipping on the 1958 Southwest Conference champion Hogs in the West Regional consolation game.

North Carolina (34-2 ) advances to the Sweet Sixteen and again doesn't have to leave its home state, meeting Washington State Thursday night in Charlotte. They advance sizzling the Razorbacks by shooting 44 of 65 from the field including 8-of-16 treys and fast-breaking with 28 assists versus seven turnovers.

Four of Carolina's starting five, Deon Thompson, 8 for 8, Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington, respectively scored 16, 17, and 20 points with Hansbrough netting 10 boards and Lawson six assists.

Off the bench, Alex Stepheson scored 10 on 5-for-5 shooting, adding to Thompson's 8 for 8 for a powerful 13 for 13 from the Tar Heels' power forward spot. The starter who didn't score 10, Marcus Ginyard, guarded Weems, Arkansas'best player with 31 points against Indiana. Weems got 19 Sunday but needed 20 shots to do it hitting eight with just 1 for 6 on treys.

Arkansas senior center Darian Townes bowed out with a near double-double, 15 points and nine rebounds, and sophomore guard Patrick Beverley scored 14 hitting 6 of 8 from the field. The Hogs could score on Carolina after starting down 9-0, but " we just couldn't get any stops, " Ervin said.

Arkansas (23-12 ) is done for the season. However, Pelphrey's Razorbacks leave Raleigh with last Friday night's 86-72 first-round victory over Indiana, Arkansas'first tournament triumph in five tries since former coach Nolan Richardson's Razorbacks won their first round game over Siena in 1999.

" I think we can leave with our heads held high, " said center Steven Hill, one of Arkansas' six seniors. " Three straight NCAA Tournaments, we won here at the tournament. And that was the No. 1 team in the country we played today. They didn't miss out there. "

Arkansas' perfectly horrible start, actually was imperfectly horrible. Senior forward Vincent Hunter did start the game blocking a shot by Hansbrough, generally acknowledged the best player in college basketball.

After Hunter's block, the Tar Heels got to trouncing.

Arkansas offensively opened with Beverley missing a three, Weems turning it over, Townes missing two free throws, and Hunter and Weems missing an inbounds connection for another turnover. By then it was 9-0 North Carolina. It would get significantly worse.

Charles Thomas did stop the 9-0 run with a bucket at 16: 49, and Townes would drop the lead to seven again with a basket at 16: 20 down 11-4.

Carolina ran off a 7-0 run and dominated every phase. Surprisingly, Arkansas just turned it over five times in the first half, and just nine times for the game, but the Tar Heels' defense kept everyone so blanketed that Arkansas shots often came rushed late in the shot clock and off the mark.

The Hogs' 10 of 28 first half shooting included but 1 for 9 on treys and just 5 of 10 free throws after sinking 26-of-33 freebies against Indiana.

Carolina came at Arkansas in waves the first half as Tar Heel coach Roy Williams alternated nine players without drop-off.

Hansbrough opened the second half with a thunder dunk punctuating a period on any notion the Hogs would fare any better in the second stanza than they did in the first. Tar Heels are their nickname, but call them sharks once they sense blood in the water and call them piranhas for keeping at it until the carcass has vanished.

Like they did in Friday's 113-74 first round demolition of Mount St. Mary's, the Tar Heels ran the floor as fast and hard in the second half as they did in the first.

" A team like that, No. 1 in the country, they aren't going to show mercy, " Ervin said. " They are not going to hold back. "

Arkansas reserve guard Stefan Welsh, played four first-half minutes on the ankle he sprained during the Indiana game. Welsh wasn't fit and yielded backup guard duties to freshman Marcus Britt of Forrest City. Britt scored five points.

The hammering hurt the Hogs, but their first-year coach reminded them, and especially their seniors, what was accomplished overall.

" We lost this basketball game, but we did not lose our season, " Pelphrey said. " Those guys were able to accomplish more than they did a year ago and for that I am very appreciative. "