North Carolina Tar Heels: Familiar Faces
The North Carolina Tar Heels look to get through the East Region to get to the Final Four. Old foes stand in their way.
The North Carolina Tar Heels are looking at some old friends as they survey the field of the East Region. They have old foes, new foes, and conference rivals all looking to take their shot at the Final Four. Unlike the West where Duke sits, those foes are the 5, 6, and 7 seeds of the region.
First team on the block is Indiana. The Hoosiers have a history of playing spoiler to the Tar Heels in the tournament. James Worthy was denied his first shot at the title when Isiah Thomas and Indiana beat the Heels in 1981. Then Michael Jordan saw his final shot at a second title end in 1984 when Indiana tripped up the Heels. So Indiana should be well known to the Heels.
These Hoosiers don’t have the reputation of the Bobby Knight teams, but they have hungry to reestablish themselves as basketball royalty. A Big Ten regular season title helped. Beating Kentucky helped more. For guard Yogi Ferrell and especially Coach Tom Crean, a win over North Carolina on the way to the Final Four would be a sign they were all the way back.
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Nor are the Hoosiers the only college in Indiana with revenge on its mind. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish would like to have another crack at the Heels too. The Irish beat the Heels in the regular season before getting blown out in the ACC Tournament. Improved Tar Heel defense was the difference, and now the Irish would have the adjustments to better approach it.
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Of course first they have to get by the Wisconsin Badgers. Yes, this the ACC-Big Ten Region. The Heels have some familiarity with the Badgers too. They were up seven on Wisconsin in the regional final a year ago when it all slipped away. Now they would get to see some of those same faces, but no Sam Dekker or Frank Kaminsky.
Facing Wisconsin in a Regional Final is not a bad idea for a Final Four bound Tar Heel team. The 2005 Championship team went through Wisconsin on their way to the Final Four. Those Badgers were a 6 seed, not much different than the 7 seed Badgers of today.
So the Tar Heels will not be able to escape history as they look to make some new history of their own. That process will begin as the Tar Heels take on Indiana Friday at 9:57 PM. Clearly the NCAA took Coach Roy Williams’ complaints about late games under advisement.