North Carolina Tar Heels
ACC (24-11, 11-7)
Roy Williams would likely tell you that this is not his best or most consistent team. But they sure do have a lot of talent and ability. Despite some of their troubles throughout the season, the Tar Heels have played great team basketball whether or not they found a way to win. No matter how un-Carolina like this team has looked all season, they are going to give it everything they have. It will be a fight to the finish for their tournament rivals.
Big Wins: 11/22 at Davidson (90-72), 12/20 vs Ohio State (82-74), 1/10 Louisville (72-71)
Bad Losses: 12/3 Iowa (55-60), 2/14 at Pittsburgh (76-89), 2/24 North Carolina State (46-58)
Coach: Roy Williams
Why They Can Surprise:
They have a ton of talent, led by Marcus Paige. The team leader in points and assists, Paige is arguably the most important player to his team in the country. He has not had his best season this year, but he means everything to the Tar Heels. At his best, he rarely turns the ball over. He plays smart. He is the reason North Carolina leads the nation in assists. They do not win every game that he plays well in, but in a recent late-season swoon, the Tar Heels have dropped games where Paige has had subpar shooting days. North Carolina is also long and athletic and is an elite rebounding team. They can limit possessions and force teams to defend them. That is not an easy task since they average nearly 80 points per game. They are a good defensive team limiting three-pointers, and Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson do a great job of blocking shots in the paint. Roy Williams goes deep with this roster as well. Nine players average over 12 minutes per game. They are a well-rounded group.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Ultimately, it could be three-point shooting that determines the fate of North Carolina. They are poor at shooting and making shots from behind the arc. They were 13th in the ACC in three-pointers per game. Williams’ teams love to run, and transition buckets are the name of the game, but North Carolina will have to be able to make shots down the stretch in the tournament. Another issue the Tar Heels could face is the foul line – on both sides. As a team, they shoot just 70% from the line. Conversely, they tend to commit a lot of fouls. They send opponents to the line more than anyone in the ACC. The Tar Heels do not want to get into a free-throw shooting contest when a game is on the line.
Probable Starters:
Marcus Paige, Junior, Guard, 13.9 ppg, 4.6 apg
Brice Johnson, Junior, Forward, 13.2 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.1 bpg
Kennedy Meeks, Sophomore, Forward, 11.7 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.4 bpg
J.P. Tokoto, Junior, Forward, 8.3 ppg, 5.6 rpb, 4.2 apg
Justin Jackson, Freshman, Forward, 10.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.3 apg
Key Roleplayers:
Isaiah Hicks, Sophomore, Forward, 6.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg
Nate Britt, Sophomore, Guard, 5.5 ppg, 1.6 apg
Joel Berry II, Freshman, Guard, 3.9 ppg, 1.6 apg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 78.2 (15th in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 68.2 (231, 13)
Field-Goal Percentage: 47.3 (29, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 39.5 (34, 3)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 4.6 (318, 13)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.8 (196, 8)
Free-Throw Percentage: 69.5 (160, 5)
Rebound Margin: 8.4 (7, 1)
Assists Per Game: 17.7 (2, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.7 (187, 12)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2014 NCAA Second Round win over Providence
2014 NCAA Third Round loss to Iowa State
2013 NCAA Second Round win over Villanova
2013 NCAA Third Round loss to Kansas
2012 NCAA Second Round win over Vermont
2012 NCAA Third Round win over Creighton
2012 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Ohio
2012 NCAA Regional Final loss to Kansas
2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over Long Island
2011 NCAA Round of 32 win over Washington
2011 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Marquette
2011 NCAA Regional Final loss to Kentucky
2010 NIT First Round win over William & Mary
2010 NIT Second Round win over Mississippi State
2010 NIT Quarterfinal win over UAB
2010 NIT Semifinal win over Rhode Island
2010 NIT Final loss to Dayton
2009 NCAA Round of 64 win over Radford
2009 NCAA Round of 32 win over LSU
2009 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Gonzaga
2009 NCAA Regional Final win over Oklahoma
2009 NCAA National Semifinal win over Villanova
2009 NCAA National Final win over Michigan State
2008 NCAA Round of 64 win over Mount St. Mary's
2008 NCAA Round of 32 win over Arkansas
2008 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Washington State
2008 NCAA Regional Final win over Louisville
2008 NCAA National Semifinal loss to Kansas
2007 NCAA Round of 64 win over Eastern Kentucky
2007 NCAA Round of 32 win over Michigan State
2007 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over USC
2007 NCAA Regional Final loss to Georgetown
*all team stats through 3/8
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
