North Carolina Tar Heels: 1957 vs 1991, Bracket Challenge
The North Carolina Tar Heels Bracket Challenge enters the second round as top seed 1957 takes on first round winner 1991.
The second round of the North Carolina Tar Heels Final Four Bracket Challenge is here. To start things off we bring back the 1991 Tar Heels from their first round success against the 1967 Tar Heels and now force them to face the legendary 1957 Championship team.
This does mean that we have to avoid using the simulator, but don’t worry. If you enjoyed the sole example of a simulator game from the first round, there will be more opportunities for us to fire up that particular bad boy later on.
The 1957 team takes us to one of the two entrants in this bracket that is not a Dean Smith or Roy Williams coached squad. Instead here comes Frank Maguire. Maguire was well known for recruiting the New York basketball scene and several of his better players all originated there. He was also the coach who famously allowed Wilt Chamberlain to play every minute of every game in the NBA one year.
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Famously, Chamberlain was on the other side when the 1957 Tar Heels charged their way into the title game behind a triple overtime victory over Michigan State. Then they did it all again against Kansas, once more pushing a low scoring triple overtime game for the win and the national title. Maguire’s pro idea of ‘pass it to Wilt’ got its start its start with the ‘pass it to Lennie Rosenbluth’ strategy. Rosenbluth averaged twenty-eight points a game for the Heels in 1957.
Rosenbluth was not available in the biggest minutes of the title game against Kansas. The team still prevailed over Chamberlain and the Jayhawks in three overtimes without their big star. They also did it without more than a seven man rotation.
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1957 Rotation
Starters
F Lennie Rosenbluth
Key Reserves
G/F Roy Searcy
Live Feed
FanSided
1991 Rotation
Starters
F Rick Fox
Key Reserves
Comments
A roster that was able to contain Chamberlain to twenty points can certainly handle Chilcutt in the inside. This is also a case of depth being less helpful since the 1957 team would have been determined to play its starters for as long as possible and they had experience doing it. If they could keep Rosenbluth out of foul trouble there would not be much of a matchup against him. Fox would likely have to bear the brunt of it or Lynch.
Result
Next: Final Four Challenge Game 4
The run of the 1991 Tar Heels would come to an end, but the 1957 team’s luck against the more modern teams would have to hold up longer than this. They could face the 2016 team in the next round depending on how the next game goes.