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CHAPEL HILL (AP) — North Carolina's players missed shots, clanked free throws and spent much of the game against Nicholls State looking disinterested. While the outcome was never in doubt, the fifth-ranked Tar Heels did just enough to keep their irked Hall of Fame coach from scheduling an early-morning practice as punishment.

Dexter Strickland scored 14 points to help North Carolina beat Nicholls State 99-49 on Monday night at the Smith Center. But the Tar Heels squandered an opportunity to fine-tune their game ahead of Wednesday's matchup against Texas, prompting coach Roy Williams to say he didn't have his team ready to play.

"We weren't focused, we weren't ready to play and it's my fault to make sure the guys don't do that," Williams said.

James Michael McAdoo had a season-high 14 points and Greensboro native P.J. Hairston added 13 off the bench for the Tar Heels (10-2), who still dominated the undersized and overmatched Colonels from the start. North Carolina finished with a 72-35 rebounding advantage, including 31 on the offensive glass that led to 36 second-chance points.

The 31 offensive boards were second-most in program history. The Tar Heels had 39 rebounds by halftime to match or exceed their total for six games this season, and their 72 for the game were tied for second in school history and the most since 1956.

Most everything else against Nicholls State (4-8) was forgettable.

"I thought we were going to come out with a little more fire than we did, just getting prepared for Texas," said sophomore Reggie Bullock, who had 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. "We just can't look ahead to other teams next time. We've just got to come out and take that opponent and play hard from the beginning."

Williams delivered that message in the second half. While the Tar Heels led by 23 points, the coach pulled his five starters for nearly five minutes. When the quintet returned, they finally showed some spark by blocking four consecutive shots and getting out in transition effectively during a 16-1 run to make it 79-33 with 7½ minutes left.

That flurry was just enough to keep Williams from scheduling what he described as a four-hour "track practice" for 7 a.m. today.

NICHOLLS STATE (4-8)

Prest 1-8 0-0 2, McBeath 1-5 0-0 2, Lewis 5-17 0-0 10, Rillieux 3-9 3-5 9, Hammond 7-13 0-1 15, Talkington 1-8 0-0 3, Smith 4-9 0-0 8, Smith-Hyde 0-1 0-0 0, West 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-70 3-6 49.

NORTH CAROLINA (10-2)

Barnes 4-12 0-3 9, Zeller 3-7 1-2 7, Henson 2-9 3-4 7, Strickland 6-8 2-4 14, Marshall 4-5 0-3 8, Bullock 4-10 0-0 10, Hairston 3-11 6-8 13, Watts 3-6 3-5 9, McAdoo 5-9 4-6 14, Hubert 1-2 0-2 2, White 0-1 0-0 0, Simmons 1-3 1-2 3, Crouch 0-1 1-2 1, Cooper 1-1 0-0 2, Dupont 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-85 21-41 99.

Halftime—North Carolina 48-22.

Percentages—Nicholls State (FG .314, FT .500), North Carolina (FG .435, FT .512).

3-point goals—Nicholls 2-22 (Hammond 1-3, Talkington 1-6, Rillieux 0-1, Smith-Hyde 0-1, McBeath 0-2, Lewis 0-3, Prest 0-6), North Carolina 4-19 (Bullock 2-8, Barnes 1-3, Hairston 1-5, Crouch 0-1, White 0-1, Marshall 0-1).

Fouled out—McBeath, Smith.

Rebounds—Nicholls 35 (Prest 8), North Carolina 72 (Henson, Zeller 11).

Team rebounds—Nicholls State 2, North Carolina 3.

Assists—Nicholls 11 (Prest 4), North Carolina 19 (Marshall 7).

Blocks—Nicholls State 2 (Lewis, Smith), North Carolina 11 (Henson 7).

Turnovers—Nicholls State 23 (Rillieux 7), North Carolina 13 (Barnes 2, Zeller 2, Crouch 2).

Steals—Nicholls State 7 (Lewis 2), North Carolina 13 (Marshall 3).

Total fouls—Nicholls 26, North Carolina 13.

A—18,072.

Officials—Jeff Clark, Tony Dawkins, Sean Casady.