FILE - In this March 18, 2012 file photo, North Carolina's Kendall Marshall gestures to a teammate late during the second half of a Midwest Regional third-round NCAA tournament college basketball game against Creighton, in Greensboro, N.C. Marshall says his broken right wrist is improving each day, but he's still not sure if he'll be able to play Friday night against Ohio in the Midwest Regional semifinals. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)
FILE - In this March 18, 2012 file photo, North Carolina's Kendall Marshall gestures to a teammate late during the second half of a Midwest Regional third-round NCAA tournament college basketball game against Creighton, in Greensboro, N.C. Marshall says his broken right wrist is improving each day, but he's still not sure if he'll be able to play Friday night against Ohio in the Midwest Regional semifinals. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)
ST. LOUIS (AP) ? North Carolina will have to do without dazzling point guard Kendall Marshall for Friday night's Midwest Regional semifinal against Ohio.
The top-seeded Tar Heels announced about 90 minutes before the game that Marshall will not play because of a broken right wrist. Freshman Stilman White, who has played a total of 136 minutes in 36 games, replaced Marshall in the starting lineup.
"We are still Carolina Basketball," Marshall said on Twitter, adding the hash tag "RiseAsOne."
Marshall is averaging about eight points and 10 assists for the Tar Heels (31-5) in the Midwest Regional. He has scored in double figures for six straight games and has been the team's most irreplaceable player at the helm of its fast-paced attack.
The Dumfries, Va., native is a second-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference pick who has 351 assists in 36 games, the best season total in league history and fourth most in NCAA history.
The left-handed Marshall broke his right wrist Sunday when he was fouled on a drive against Creighton. He had surgery Monday to install a screw in the wrist and got his cast off Wednesday. Though Marshall said Thursday the wrist was improving with each day, he said his range of motion would have to get better and the pain would have to decrease for him to be able to play.
"Whether I'm playing or not, it's not going to matter. Carolina basketball is still going to go on," Marshall said Thursday. "They can be successful without me."
White began the year as the Tar Heels' No. 3 point guard, not expecting to get significant playing time. But he became Marshall's primary backup after Dexter Strickland suffered a season-ending knee injury in January. While has played in all but four games, averaging less than a point in 4.3 minutes of play.
The Tar Heels have won 10 straight in the regional semifinals. Thirteenth-seeded Ohio (29-7) is only the seventh team seeded 13th or higher to make the regional semifinals and first since Bradley in 2006. None of the teams won its next game.
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