Reached Saturday morning in Pullman, Bennett told ESPN.com, "I haven't had one conversation with [Indiana] and so, no, I haven't been offered the job.''

Washington State athletic director Jim Sterk said Saturday morning that no school has asked for permission to talk to Bennett.

When you look at the scoreboard, you may think that Washington State's strategy of slowing the pace of the game down against North Carolina worked. The Tar Heels scored just 68 points, 42 points below their NCAA tournament average.

However, that strategy only works if you can score more than you allow. Washington State was nowhere close to that ... losing 68-47.

The slow down game may have worked in the Tar Heels favor as their defense was the story. UNC held WSU to just 31% shooting ... including just 2-of-16 from the three-point line. They also dominated the boards (42 to 28). If not for State's Aron Baynes shooting (6-of-8), the Cougars would have shot 12-of-49 (24% to you and me) and been blown out of the water.

And that little thing about Tyler Hansbrough held to just two points at the half? He ended the game with 18 points and 9 boards after going the first 18-plus minutes of the game scoreless.

North Carolina will move on to face the winner of the Tennessee-Louisville game this Saturday. The taste of their meltdown against Georgetown in last year's East Regional final has left the team bitter ever since.

Washington State has won two things so far against North Carolina:

They are winning the battle of tempo as the game is being played in the 60s. The slow-down game has limited UNC's ability to run up the score and get easy baskets. They've also shut down Tyler Hansbrough to the tune of two points, no made field goals on four shot attempts and five rebounds.

However, the Cougars go into halfime still trailing the top ranked Tar Heels, 35-21.

For one thing, the Heels defense has been splendid themselves ... holding Washington State to just 9-of-26 shooting. They've held the Cougars' leading scorer Derrick Low to just five points.

Plus, despite the style of play and the defensive prowess of Washington State, the Heels still shot 48% from the field even after getting off to such a rocky start. Wayne Ellington (9 points) and super-sub Danny Green (12 points) are leading the way and picking up Hansbrough's slack.

In the East Regional, the forgotten team is Washington State. With UNC blowing away everyone and fans salivating over the Tennessee-Louisville game, the Cougars are right under the radar.

That happens. Carolina and the Vols are relatively close to Charlotte, the site of the games, with Louisville not tremendously far away. Pullman, WA may as well be on the other side of the planet.

Still, WSU coach Tony Bennett knows a bit about Charlotte. After a nice career as a player at Wisconsin-Green Bay, Bennett was drafted by the NBA's Charlotte Hornets.

"I don't think too many people will remember me and be pulling for the Cougs down there," said Bennett, whose fourth-seeded team plays No. 1 seed UNC in the NCAA Round of 16 on Thursday. "They'll be cheering for the Carolina blues."