Their largest lead was 73-44.

Hansbrough was 6-for-15 from the field but went 8-for-8 from the free throw line.

“He made Tyler change so many more of his shots than I’ve ever seen anybody make him change,” Williams said of Rutgers’ 6-11 sophomore Hamady Ndiaye. “But to feel he didn’t have a great game. He’s 20-11. That’s pretty good.”

This was the last of four straight road games and six in a row away from home for the Tar Heels. They started their trip with wins in Las Vegas over Old Dominion and Brigham Young and then beat Ohio State, Kentucky and Pennsylvania on their homecourts.

It was also North Carolina’s first game after taking 12 days off for final exams.

The last time North Carolina played a game in New Jersey the Tar Heels left feeling as bad about a loss as a team could. They had a 10-point lead with 6 minutes left over Georgetown but lost in overtime in the East Regional final at the Meadowlands, about 40 miles away.

“I haven’t thought about that yet but it is what it is,” Hansbrough said of the loss to Georgetown.

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“We’re trying to put that past us,” Lawson said. “Still, Coach brings it up and we still cringe thinking about it so we all put it past us.”

Hansbrough was one of the players many expected to leave early for the NBA, but the 6-foot-9 forward returned for his junior year, one of the biggest reasons the Tar Heels were No. 1 in the preseason poll, a spot they have held onto.

It was the Tar Heels’ ninth straight win in the series. The Scarlet Knights won the first meeting between the schools in the 1920-21 season. North Carolina beat Rutgers 87-48 at home last season.

The loss was Rutgers’ first in seven home games this season and it dropped the Scarlet Knights to 0-10 against teams ranked No. 1.

The highest-ranked team the Scarlet Knights have ever beaten was No. 6 West Virginia on Feb. 27, 1982.

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