By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina will see a familiar scenario if the Tar Heels advance to the second weekend of the NCAA women’s tournament.
A No. 1 seed, again, will likely be waiting. This time, it would be No. 1 overall seed UConn (34–0) in the Sweet 16.
If that matchup happens March 27 in Fort Worth, it will mark the third time in the last four seasons that UNC has faced a No. 1 seed in the first three rounds. Unlike the previous two times, the opponent won’t be South Carolina.
The Tar Heels (27–7), a No. 4 seed, open the tournament against No. 13 seed Western Illinois (26–5) at 5:30 p.m. Friday after fifth-seeded Maryland (23–8) faces No. 12 seed Murray State (31–3) at 3 p.m. The winners meet on Sunday with a Sweet 16 berth on the line.
While Carolina isn’t looking ahead, UNC coach Courtney Banghart said that the possibility of another meeting with a No. 1 seed is part of the tournament math for a No. 4 seed.
“I’m not going to sit here and bitch about where we fell because we lost three of our first ACC games,” Banghart said. “You want to stay off the eight-nine [game], and you’d prefer to be a two than a four. But you have to earn that.”
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UNC is 3–10 against No. 1 seeds all-time in the NCAA tournament (see list below). Two of those victories came during the Tar Heels’ run to the 1994 national championship, including a win over UConn.
If the bracket holds, the Tar Heels may have another chance to test themselves against the sport’s elite after playing the other three No. 1 seeds earlier: South Carolina in an Oct. 30 exhibition game, UCLA on Nov. 13 in Las Vegas and at Texas on Dec. 4.
Banghart saw this dynamic long before she arrived in Chapel Hill, after her unbeaten Princeton team won a game for the first time in program history in 2015. Waiting in the second round was No. 1-seed Maryland, which advanced to the Final Four that season. The Tigers played the Terps close for three quarters before losing 85–70.
Banghart still recalls the setting in College Park, Md., as much as the opponent, and that President Barack Obama was at the game.
“I had a really good Princeton team,” Banghart said. “We were underseeded as that was the year we were 30–0, and we ended up being 31–0 going into that game. We had a really great point guard who went on and played seven years in the WNBA. I had multiple WNBA players on that roster.”
Her current Tar Heels could see that same Maryland program again Sunday if both win on Friday, facing the same coach, Brenda Frese, she battled in 2015.
“Brenda and I have been doing this a really long time,” Banghart said. “We’ve recruited in the DC area together a very long time. Have great respect for what she’s been able to do consistently at one place.”
For Banghart, hosting in Chapel Hill represents validation for a roster that replaced most of last year’s production but still earned another NCAA tournament home weekend.
“The opportunity we have to host is really special, and there are so many teams who don’t get to do that,” Banghart said. “Hosting obviously is a huge advantage because it rewards the work you’ve done to be able to play in front of your community again.”
She credited the program’s internal development, the freshman coming in ready and eager to help and the transfers with making a difference. She said that the Tar Heels’ growth has been steady across the season.
“I think we came in and had to put a lot of pieces that hadn’t played significant minutes together,” Banghart said. “From where we were in December to where we are now, there are parts of the ball on both sides where we’re better. There’s more rhythm to our offense, we’re tougher defensively, and our younger players have simply seen more.”
The first challenge in this year’s tournament will be Western Illinois, a team Banghart admitted she only began studying after the bracket was announced.
Mia Nicastro, a 6–2 senior forward and the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year, leads the Leathernecks, averaging 24.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game while recording 14 double-doubles.
“She can hurt you in and out,” Banghart said. “She’s effective from three, from the free throw line, from two. She’s comfortable facing the basket. She’s highly efficient.”
Banghart said there are similarities between Nicastro and South Dakota State star Brooklyn Meyer, who UNC held to 16 points — 6.4 under her average for the season — in its 83–46 win in Cancun on Nov. 27.
Banghart called Nicastro “the head of the snake,” saying that it will be important to make sure “that her effectiveness and productivity go down from what it’s been in conference.”
It remains uncertain what role junior Reniya Kelly will play in the NCAA tournament after she was listed as a game-time decision for both of UNC’s ACC tournament games but didn’t play.
Banghart said she didn’t really have an update on Kelly, who hasn’t played since Feb. 5 and has missed the last nine games.
“I know we keep talking about Reniya, and she’s key to our team, but we won a lot of games with her supporting in the way that she can,” Banghart said. “So, I think the narrative needs to shift to what we’re doing, and she’ll help us when she can. When she’s not helping us on the floor, she’s helping us in all the ways that she has to get us to where we are.”
Banghart wouldn’t say how much Kelly has practiced, only pointing out that fans can see that she’s moving around fine in warmups.
UNC vs. No. 1 seeds
— Second round in 2024: Lost 88–41 at South Carolina
— Sweet 16 in 2022: Lost 89–51 to South Carolina in Greensboro
— Sweet 16 in 2015: Lost 67–65 to South Carolina in Greensboro
— Sweet 16 in 2014: Won 65–58 over South Carolina in Palo Alto, Calif.
— Sweet 16 in 2011: Lost 72–65 to Stanford in Spokane, Wash.
— National semifinal in 2007: Lost 56–50 to Tennessee in Cleveland
— Sweet 16 in 2000: Lost 83–57 to Georgia in Portland, Ore.
— Sweet 16 in 2002: Lost 70–61 to Vanderbilt in Ames, Iowa.
— Sweet 16 in 1999: Lost 82–59 to Purdue in Normal, Ill.
— Elite Eight in 1998: Lost 76–70 to Tennessee in Nashville, Tenn.
— Elite Eight in 1994: Won 71–69 over UConn in Piscataway, N.J.
— National semifinal in 1994: Won 89–74 over Purdue in Richmond, Va.
— Sweet 16 in 1993: Lost 74–54 to Tennessee in Iowa City, Iowa
ACC teams in NCAA field
Thursday’s First Four
No. 10 Virginia vs. No. 10 Arizona State — Regional 4 Sacramento — Iowa City, Iowa, 9 p.m., ESPN2
Friday’s first-round games
No. 3 Duke vs. No. 14 College of Charleston — Regional 2 Sacramento — Durham, 11:30 a.m., ESPN2
No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 9 Virginia Tech — Regional 3 Fort Worth — Austin, Texas, 1:30, ESPN2
No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 13 Western Illinois— Regional 1 Fort Worth — Chapel Hill, 5:30, ESPN News
No. 7 N.C. State vs. No. 10 Tennessee — Regional 3 Fort Worth — Ann Arbor, Mich., 8 p.m., ESPN
Saturday’s first-round games
No. 3 Louisville vs. No. 14 Vermont — Regional 3 Fort Worth — Louisville, Ky., noon, ESPN
Virginia-Arizona State winner vs. No. 7 Georgia — Region 4 Sacramento — Iowa City, Iowa, 1:30, ESPN2
No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Fairfield — Regional 1 Fort Worth — Columbus, Ohio, 2 p.m., ESPN
No. 8 Clemson vs. No. 9 USC — Regional 4 Sacramento — Columbia, S.C., 3:30, ESPN2
No. 8 Iowa State vs. No. 9 Syracuse — Regional 1 Fort Worth — Storrs, Conn., 5:30, ESPN2
NCAA tournament bracket
| Date | Day/month | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 4 South Carolina in Atlanta | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 90–42 | vs. N.C. Central | 1–0 |
| 6 | Thursday | W, 71–37 | vs. Elon | 2–0 |
| WBCA Challenge Las Vegas | ||||
| 13 | Thursday | L, 78–60 | vs. No. 2 UCLA | 2–1 |
| 15 | Saturday | W, 82–68 | vs. Fairfield | 3–1 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 20 | Thursday | W, 85–50 | at N.C. A&T | 4–1 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 94–48 | vs. UNCG | 5–1 |
| Cancun Challenge Cancun, Mexico | ||||
| 27 | Thursday | W, 83–48 | vs. South Dakota St. | 6–1 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 85–73 | vs. Kansas State | 7–1 |
| 29 | Saturday | W, 80–63 | vs. Columbia | 8–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 79–64 | at No. 3 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 13 Louisville | 9–3, 0–1 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 84–34 | vs. UNCW | 10–3 |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 93–74 | vs. Charleston Southern | 11–3 |
| 29 | Monday | W, 90–38 | at Boston College | 12–3, 1–1 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | W, 71–55 | vs. California | 13–3, 2–1 |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 77–71, OT | vs. Stanford | 13–4, 2–2 |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 73–50 | at No. 22 Notre Dame | 13–5, 2–3 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 73–62 | vs. Miami | 14–5, 3–3 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 82–55 | at Florida State | 15–5, 4–3 |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 54–46 | at Georgia Tech | 16–5, 5–3 |
| 25 | Sunday | W, 77–71, OT | vs. Syracuse | 17–5, 6–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 61–59 | at N.C. State | 18–5, 7–3 |
| 5 | Thursday | W, 53–44 | vs. Clemson | 19–5, 8–3 |
| 8 | Sunday | W, 84–56 | vs. Wake Forest | 20–5, 9–3 |
| 12 | Thursday | W, 94–42 | vs. SMU | 21–5, 10–3 |
| 15 | Sunday | L, 72–68 | at No. 8 Duke | 21–6, 10–4 |
| 19 | Thursday | W, 66–63, OT | at Virginia Tech | 22–6, 11–4 |
| 22 | Sunday | W, 78–50 | vs. Pittsburgh | 23–6, 12–4 |
| 26 | Thursday | W, 82–70 | at Virginia | 24–6, 13–4 |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | W, 72–69 | vs. No. 8 Duke | 25–6, 14–4 |
| ACC tournament | Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga. | |||
| 6 | Friday | W, 85–68 | Quarterfinal vs. Va. Tech | 26–6 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 65–57 | Semifinal vs. No. 13 Louisville | 26–7 |
| NCAA tournament 1st two rounds in Chapel Hill | ||||
| 21 | Friday | 5:30 p.m. | First round: vs. Western Illinois | ESPN News |
| 23 | Sunday | TBA | (With win) Second round: No. 17 Maryland or Murray State | TBA |
| 27, 29 | Fri., Sun. | TBA | Fort Worth 1 Regional | TBA |
| April | ||||
| 3, 5 | Fri., Sun. | Final Four Phoenix | ESPN (Fri.); ABC (Sun.) |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
