By R.L. Bynum
No. 21 North Carolina is headed to Greenville, S.C., for the first two rounds of the NCAA men’s tournament as a No. 6 seed.
The Tar Heels (24–8) are in the South Regional, which has Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games in Houston. UNC faces VCU (27–7) at 6:50 p.m. Thursday (TNT) in the first round. A win would advance the Tar Heels to a second-round game Saturday against the winner of Thursday’s game in Greenville between No. 3 Illinois (24–8) and No. 14 Penn (18–11).
It’s the 55th UNC appearance in the NCAA tournament, the second-most of all-time.
VCU, which has won 16 of its last 17 games, finished second in the Atlantic 10 (15–3), and won the league tournament Sunday with a 70–63 victory over Dayton. UNC and VCU have never met.
The Rams (who have a NET ranking of 43 and a WAB ranking of 40) have two players averaging double-figure points: 6–3, 180-pound sophomore guard Terrence Hill Jr. (14.4) and 6–11, 235-pound junior foward Lazar Djokovic (13.5), the latter leading them in rebounding at 5.4 per game.
VCU is 2–5 in Quad 1 games, with wins over South Florida (78–66 on Nov. 26) on a neutral court and 68–62 at Dayton on March 6. The Rams have Quad 1 losses against Vanderbilt (89–74 on Nov. 27) on a neutral court, at St. Louis (88–75 on Feb. 20), at N.C. State (85–79 on Nov. 17), vs. Utah State (80–77 on Nov. 7) on a neutral court, and at home against St. Louis (71–62 on Jan. 7).
The Rams are 5–2 in Quad 2 games, including a neutral-site 86–68 win against Virginia Tech on Nov. 28.
If UNC faces Illinois in the second round, the Tar Heels will be trying to snap a two-game losing streak since beating the Illini 75–70 in the 2005 national championship game. The all-time series is tied at 4.
The No. 1 seed in the region is No. 4-ranked Florida (26–7), and the No. 2 seed is No. 5-ranked Houston (28–6).
Clemson (24–10) is the No. 8 seed in the South, facing No. 9 Iowa (21–12) on Friday in Tampa.
Duke (32–2) is the No. 1 overall seed and will play in the East Regional in Washington, with early-round games in Greenville, S.C. The Blue Devils face Siena (23–11) in the first round at 2:50 p.m. Thursday (CBS). No. 6 UConn (29–5) is the No. 2 seed in that region. No. 24 Louisville (23–10) is a No. 6 seed in the East, and plays South Florida (25–8) in Buffalo on Thursday.
N.C. State (20–13) will play at 9:10 Tuesday in the First Four against Texas (18–14) in Dayton (truTV), and is in the West Regional, to be played in San Jose, Calif. A win would put the Wolfpack up against No. 6-seed BYU (23–11) in the first round in Portland. Miami (25–8) is a No. 7 seed in that region, facing Missouri (20–12) on Friday in St. Louis.
SMU (20–13) will face No. 20 Miami of Ohio (31–1) in the First Four. The Mustangs are in the Midwest Regional, and would face No. 6 seed Tennessee in Philadelphia on Friday a victory. No. 10 Virginia (29–5) is the No. 3 seed in that regional, facing No. 14 Wright State (23–11) on Friday in Philadelphia.
Carolina has played 13 games against teams in the NCAA field. The Tar Heels went 7–6, splitting a pair of games against Clemson and Duke; beating Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State and Virginia; and losing to Miami, Michigan State, N.C. State and SMU.
UNC, 3–3 as a No. 6 seed, has lost to the No. 3 seed in the second round all three previous times as a 6 seed: 85–83 to Iowa in San Antonio in 2014, 78–75 in Denver against Texas in 2004 (Roy Williams’ first season) and 92–73 in Richmond to Texas Tech in 1996.
Carolina is 2–0 in NCAA tournament games in Greenville, S.C., after winning two games on its way to the 2017 NCAA title.
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South Regional
FIRST FOUR
Wednesday’s game
No. 16 Prairie View A&M 76, No. 16 Lehigh 55
FIRST ROUND
Thursday’s games
Oklahoma City
No. 4 Nebraska 76, No. 13 Troy 47
No. 5 Vanderbilt 78, No. 12 McNeese State 68
Greenville, S.C.
No. 11 VCU 86, No. 6 North Carolina 78, OT
No. 3 Illinois 105, No. 14 Penn 70
Oklahoma City
No. 10 Texas A&M 73, No. 7 St. Mary’s 50
No. 2 Houston 78, No. 15 Idaho 47
Friday’s games
Tampa, Fla.
No. 9 Iowa 67, No. 8 Clemson 61
No. 1 Florida 114, Prairie View A&M 55
SECOND ROUND
Saturday games
Oklahoma City
Nebraska 74, Vanderbilt 72
Greenville, S.C.
Illinois 76, VCU 55
Oklahoma City
Houston 88, Texas A&M 57
Sunday game
Tampa, Fla.
Iowa 73, Florida 72
REGIONAL SEMIFINALS
Houston
Thursday, March 26
Iowa (23–12) vs. Nebraska (28–6)
Illinois (26–8) vs. Houston (30–6)
REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Houston
Saturday, March 28
UNC as a No. 6 seed
2014 — 1–1; 79–77 win in San Antonio over No. 11 Providence, 85–83 loss to No. 3 Iowa State
2004 — 1–1; 63–52 win in Denver over No. 11 Air Force, 78–75 loss to No. 3 Texas
1996 — 1–1; 83–62 win in Richmond over No. 11 New Orleans; 92–73 loss to No. 3 seed Texas Tech
NCAA tournament bracket
UNC schedule
| Date | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) |
|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |
| 9 | 7 p.m. Friday | vs. USC in Greensboro |
| 18 | 5 p.m. Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis |
| 27 | Tuesday | vs. Charlotte |
| November | Regular season | |
| 2 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina |
| 6 | Friday | vs. Wofford |
| 10 | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming |
| 13 | Friday | vs. Georgia |
| 20 | Friday | vs. Marshall |
| 23 | Monday | vs. Monmouth |
| 27 | Friday | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte |
| December | ||
| 1 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas |
| 6 | Sunday | vs. Butler |
| 12 | Saturday afternoon | at Georgetown |
| 15 | 7 p.m. Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro |
| 19 | 2:30 Saturday, CBS | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York |
| 21 | Monday | vs. The Citadel |
| 30 | Wednesday | vs. California |
| January | ||
| 2 | Saturday | at Boston College |
| 5 | 7 p.m. Tuesday | at Louisville |
| 9 | Saturday | vs. N.C. State |
| 13 | Wednesday | at Florida State |
| 16 | Saturday | vs. Stanford |
| 19 | Tuesday | vs. No. 17 Virginia |
| 23 | Saturday | at Syracuse |
| 26 | Tuesday | vs. SMU |
| 30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. |
| February | ||
| 2 | Tuesday | at Notre Dame |
| 6 | Saturday | vs. Georgia Tech |
| 8 | Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN | vs. Louisville |
| 13 | Saturday | at No. 4 Duke |
| 20 | Saturday | at Wake Forest |
| 22 | Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN | vs. No. 24 Miami |
| 27 | Saturday | at Virginia Tech |
| March | ||
| 2 | Tuesday | at Pittsburgh |
| 6 | Saturday | vs. No. 4 Duke |
| 9–13 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament in Greensboro |
Photo courtesy of the ACC
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