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PHILADELPHIA – North Carolina will play in its 28th regional final of an NCAA Tournament on Sunday when the Tar Heels face Saint Peter’s at Wells Fargo Center.
UNC is the No. 8 seed in the East Region and the Peacocks are the first No. 15 seed to ever reach the Elite Eight. Carolina is 27-9 and St. Peter’s is 22-11.
Tip off will be sometime around 5 PM EST.
Here are some UNC-related NCAA Tournament notes heading into the Tar Heels versus the Peacocks game:
• No. 8 seed Carolina plays No. 15 Saint Peter’s on Sunday, March 27, in the East Regional final in Philadelphia. Tip time is approximately 4:50 p.m. (CBS) at the Wells Fargo Center.
• This is the first time the Tar Heels will be playing against Saint Peter’s. Carolina’s most recent game vs. a team from the MAAC was an 88-73 win over Iona on 3/22/2019 in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
• This is Carolina’s 28th regional final and 30th time in the NCAA Tournament round of eight. The Tar Heels are 20-7 in NCAA region[1]al finals, including wins in their last two in 2016 in Philadelphia and 2017 in Memphis.
• This is Carolina’s second time in a regional final as an eight seed (also in 2000, when the Tar Heels beat No. 7 Tulsa in Austin, Texas, to advance to the Final Four).
• Carolina advanced to the Elite 8 with a 73-66 win over UCLA. Caleb Love scored 20 of UNC’s final 29 points, and 27 of his career-high 30 in the second half, to lead the Tar Heels, who won for the fourth time in 13 games this season when trailing at the half.
• The win over UCLA was Carolina’s 129th in NCAA Tournament play, tying Kentucky for the most all-time.
• Since seeding began in 1979, the Tar Heels have played a double-digit seed one time in a regional final, defeating No. 10 Temple in the Meadowlands in 1991. Head coach Hubert Davis and East Regional MVP Rick Fox both scored 19 points to lead No. 1 seed-Carolina to a 75-72 win over the Owls to send Dean Smith and UNC back to the Final Four for the first time since 1982.
• Should Carolina defeat Saint Peter’s, the Tar Heels would advance to the Final Four for the 21st time and play the winner of the West Regional (Duke or Arkansas).
• Carolina’s 20 Final Four appearances are the most in NCAA Tournament history.
• Carolina’s three wins in the 2022 NCAA Tournament include a 95-63 win over No. 9 seed Marquette, a 93-86 overtime win over No. 1 seed Baylor, and the 73-66 win over No. 4 seed UCLA
• The win over Baylor was Carolina’s ninth all[1]time over a No. 1 seed, tying Duke for the most in NCAA Tournament history.
• The win over Baylor was the first time UNC eliminated the defending champion in the NCAA Tournament.
• The win over Baylor, which was ranked No. 4 in the final Associated Press poll, was UNC’s second win over the fourth-ranked team in the country in two weeks. UNC beat No. 4 Duke in Durham on March 5. Those are the 11th and 12th times an unranked Tar Heel team beat a top-five ranked opponent. It is the fourth time an unranked Carolina team beat a pair of top-5 ranked opponents in the same season (also over No. 3 Vanderbilt and No. 5 Duke in 1964-65, over No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 5 Duke in 1989- 90 and No. 1 Michigan State and No. 5 Duke in 2013-14).
• Carolina’s win over 11th-ranked UCLA was the Tar Heels’ fourth as an unranked team over a ranked opponent this season (also beat No. 24 Michigan, No. 4 Duke and No. 4 Baylor). It’s the most wins by an unranked UNC team over ranked opponents since winning four times in 2002-03.
• Carolina is one of three ACC teams in the Elite 8, the most of any conference in college basket[1]ball. Carolina, Duke and Miami are joined in the regional finals by one team from the American (Houston), Big East (Villanova), Big 12 (Kansas), MAAC (Saint Peter’s) and SEC (Arkansas)
More Carolina In The NCAA Tournament
• This is Carolina’s 52nd appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which is the second most all-time (Kentucky 59).
• The Tar Heels are 129-48 in the NCAA Tournament.
• Carolina’s six NCAA Tournament champion[1]ships are the third most all-time.
• The Tar Heels won NCAA titles in 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009 and 2017.
• Carolina’s 20 Final Fours are the most in NCAA Tournament history.
• The Tar Heels are the only team to play in the Final Four in each of the last eight decades: 1946, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2016 and 2017. • Carolina has played in the second-most NCAA Tournament games (177), is tied for the most wins (129) and has the second-highest winning percentage (.729).
• Elite 8 Records begin in 1951, the first year all teams in the NCAA Tournament had to win at least one game to advance to the Elite 8. This is Carolina’s 27th time in the Elite 8, second most all-time.
FINAL FOURS
North Carolina 20
UCLA 18
Kentucky 17
Duke 16
Kansas 15
ELITE EIGHT (beginning in 1951)
Kentucky 34
North Carolina 27
Duke 23
Kansas 23
UCLA 21
TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES
Kentucky 59
North Carolina 52
Kansas 50
UCLA 49
Duke 44
TOURNAMENT GAMES (THROUGH 3/25)
Kentucky 182
North Carolina 177
Kansas 160
Duke 155
UCLA 150
TOURNAMENT WINS (THROUGH 3/25)
North Carolina 129
Kentucky 129
Duke 117
Kansas 112
UCLA 108
TOURNAMENT WIN PERCENTAGE (THROUGH 3/25)
Duke (117-38) .755
North Carolina (129-48) .729
UCLA (108-42) .720
Kentucky (129-53) .709
Florida (45-19) .703
