By R.L. Bynum
The monumental challenge that No. 15 North Carolina knew was likely ahead in the Sweet 16 is official.
The No. 4-seed Tar Heels (28–7) will have the daunting challenge of meeting No. 1 UConn (36–0), which will take a 52-game win streak into Friday’s 5 p.m. ET matchup (ESPN) in the Fort Worth 1 Regional after earning its 32nd consecutive Sweet 16 trip.
The reigning national champion Huskies advanced by rolling to a 98–45 home victory Monday in the second round of the NCAA tournament over Syracuse. They haven’t lost a game since falling 80–76 at Tennessee on Feb. 6, 2025, and now have 15 wins by at least 50 points in NCAA play.
“We were pretty focused, and we were pretty locked in together, and that’s the best half of basketball, best 20 minutes that I’ve seen in a long, long time from our team, not just this team,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “It’s happened other times, but this is about as good as it gets.”
UConn went on a 31–0 second-quarter run and shot 66% from the floor in the first half. The Huskies held the Orange to a season-low point total, holding them to 1 of 18 shooting from 3-poinr range while forcing 16 of 20 turnovers in the first half and collecting 15 steals.
UNC, which has opened as a 25½-point underdog, earned its second consecutive Sweet 16 trip with Sunday’s 74–66 victory over No. 17 Maryland at Carmichael Arena.
It’s the fourth time in eight seasons that the Tar Heels have faced a No. 1 seed in the Sweet 16 or earlier, losing in the Sweet 16 to South Carolina in Greensboro in 2015 (67–65) and 2022 (69–61), and falling at South Carolina 88–41 in the second round in 2024.
Friday’s game will be at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, the site of the epic Carolina 94–86 men’s basketball overtime victory over Baylor in the second round of the 2022 NCAA tournament on its way to the NCAA championship game.
AP First Team All-Americans Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd (top photo) lead the Huskies. Strong, whose hometown is Durham, had Carolina in her final three coming out of Sanford’s Grace Christian School before picking UConn.
Fudd poured in 34 points and eight 3-pointers, both tying her career-highs, with five assists and four steals in 28 minutes against Syracuse. Strong collected 18 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes.
In the only other NCAA tournament meeting, the Tar Heels won 91–69 in the East Regional final in Piscataway, N.C., on their way to the 1994 national championship. That was Auriemma’s ninth season at UConn and the season before the first of the program’s 12 national titles.
UConn, the No. 1 overall seed for the 23rd time, has blown out most opponents this season, only winning by single digits this season once: in a 72–69 win in Uncasville, Conn., on Nov. 21 against then-No. 6 Michigan.
UNC will be the highest-ranked team UConn has faced since a 96–66 win over then-No. 15 Tennessee on Feb. 1. The only Huskies opponent ranked higher than UNC at the time of the meeting is Iowa, which was No. 12 when UConn won 90–64 in Brooklyn on Dec. 20.
Carolina and UConn have three other common opponents in addition to Syracuse, which UNC beat 77–71 in overtime on Jan. 25.
— UConn beat Louisville 79–66 in Annapolis, Md., on Nov. 4, while UNC lost to the Cardinals 76–66 in overtime at home on Dec. 14 and 75–57 on March 7 in the ACC tournament semifinals.
— Both beat Florida State: UConn 99–67 at home on Nov. 9 and UNC 82–55 at Florida State on Jan. 18.
— UNC lost Jan. 11 on the road against Notre Dame 73–50, and the Huskies beat Notre Dame at home 85–47 on Jan. 19.
UConn leads the all-time series against UNC 9–5. Since the Tar Heels beat the Huskies 82–76 on Jan. 15, 2007, for their third straight win in the series, UConn has won the last seven meetings.
The programs last met in Greensboro on Nov. 15, 2024, with the Huskies winning 69–58.
Subscribe to read Tar Heel Tribune ad-free
Subscribe for a cleaner, smoother reading experience without the flashing banners, slow-loading elements, or those especially annoying pop‑up ads that interrupt the flow of the story. You’ll also get the first version of each story emailed to you. The only ads you’ll see are static, non-intrusive ads for UNC‑related books, and there are none currently on the site.
Fort Worth 1 Regional
FIRST ROUND
Last Friday’s results
Chapel Hill
No. 5 Maryland 99, No. 12 Murray State 67
No. 4 North Carolina 82, No. 13 Western Illinois 51
Last Saturday’s results
Storrs, Conn.
No. 1 UConn 90, No. 16 UTSA 52
No. 9 Syracuse 72, No. 8 Iowa State 63
Columbus, Ohio
No. 3 Ohio State 74, No. 14 Howard 54
No. 6 Notre Dame 79, Fairfield 60
Nashville, Tenn.
No. 2 Vanderbilt 102, No. 15 High Point 61
No. 7 Illinois 66, No. 10 Colorado 57
SECOND ROUND
Sunday’s result
Chapel Hill
North Carolina 74, Maryland 66
Monday’s results
Columbus, Ohio
Notre Dame 83, Ohio State 73
Storrs, Conn.
UConn 98, Syracuse 45
Nashville, Tenn.
Vanderbilt 75, Illinois 57
REGIONAL SEMIFINALS
Fort Worth, Texas
Friday’s games (ESPN)
Notre Dame (24–10) vs. Vanderbilt (29–4), 2:30
UConn (36–0) vs. North Carolina (28–7), 5 p.m.
REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday’s game
Semifinal winners
| 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 Fort Worth 1 Regional | ||||
| 21 | Friday | W, 82–51 | First round in Chapel Hill: vs. Western Illinois | 27–7 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 74–66 | Second round in Chapel Hill: No. 17 Maryland | 28–7 |
| 27 | Friday | 5 p.m. | Sweet 16 in Fort Worth, Texas: vs. No. 1 UConn | ESPN |
Photo via @UConnWBB
