North Carolina Tar Heels
ACC (27-6, 16-2)
Early in the 2018-2019 campaign, North Carolina lost most of their big games against top competition. They did beat Gonzaga 103-90 though, but most remembered those losses to Texas, Michigan and Kentucky. But Coach Roy Williams rallied his team in the tough ACC and they finished very strong and with a share of the regular season conference title.
Big Wins: 12/15 Gonzaga (103-90), 2/20 at Duke (88-72), 2/23 Florida State (77-59)
Bad Losses: 11/22 vs Texas (89-92), 11/28 at Michigan (67-84), 1/12 Louisville (62-83)
Coach: Roy Williams
Why They Can Surprise:
As usual, the Tar Heels have an extremely potent offense. Senior guard Cameron Johnson has been a superb shooter and is connecting on 46.5 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. He is averaging 16.9 points per game and he has been extremely consistent throughout this season. Freshman Coby White, who is averaging 16.3 points and 4.2 assists, has been less consistent but at times just as dominate. It will be very important for UNC to get a good offensive output from White once they start facing tougher competition in the second weekend of the tournament and beyond. The other thing the Tar Heels do extremely well is rebound. Luke Maye averages 10.5 rebounds in addition to his 14.7 points per game.
Why They Can Disappoint:
North Carolina is obviously going to give up quite a few points since they are willing to force the pace of the game. They rank 14th in the ACC allowing 72.9 points per game. The bigger concern is that they rank tenth in the conference in field-goal percentage defense. Eventually North Carolina will run into a team that is shooting the ball effectively and when that happens the Tar Heels will have to be able to keep up. They usually can keep up and outscore anybody, but eventually having to run up and down the floor and score 90 points per game could catch up to North Carolina.
Probable Starters:
Coby White, Freshman, Guard, 16.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.2 apg
Kenny Williams, Senior, Guard, 8.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.5 apg
Cameron Johnson, Senior, Guard, 16.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.3 apg
Garrison Brooks, Sophomore, Forward, 8.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg
Luke Maye, Senior, Forward, 14.7 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 2.4 apg
Key Role Players:
Nassir Little, Freshman, Forward, 9.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg
Brandon Robinson, Junior, Guard, 3.4 ppg
Seventh Woods, Junior, Guard, 2.6 ppg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 86.6 (3rd in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 72.9 (223, 14)
Field-Goal Percentage: 46.6 (64, 4)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.1 (45, 10)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 9.0 (60, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 37.3 (44, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 74.1 (59, 5)
Rebound Margin: 9.8 (2, 1)
Assists Per Game: 19.3 (2, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.4 (218, 10)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
| 2018 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Lipscomb |
| 2018 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Texas A&M |
| 2017 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Texas Southern |
| 2017 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Arkansas |
| 2017 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal win over Butler |
| 2017 | NCAA | Regional Final win over Kentucky |
| 2017 | NCAA | National Semifinal win over Oregon |
| 2017 | NCAA | National Final win over Gonzaga |
| 2016 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Florida Gulf Coast |
| 2016 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Providence |
| 2016 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal win over Indiana |
| 2016 | NCAA | Regional Final win over Notre Dame |
| 2016 | NCAA | National Semifinal win over Syracuse |
| 2016 | NCAA | National Final loss to Villanova |
| 2015 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Harvard |
| 2015 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Arkansas |
| 2015 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal loss to Wisconsin |
| 2014 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Providence |
| 2014 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Iowa State |
| 2013 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Villanova |
| 2013 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Kansas |
| 2012 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Vermont |
| 2012 | NCAA | Round of 32 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 3/10
