North Carolina was named the No. 1 seed in the Midwest of the 2019 NCAA Tournament and will open tournament play Friday versus No. 16 seed Iona the NCAA Selection Committee announced Sunday evening.

The Tar Heels (27-6) finished the regular season as co-champions of the ACC with Virginia, which received the No. 1 seed in the South Region. Duke, which the Tar Heels defeated twice in the regular season but lost to in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament this past Friday, was named the No. 1 seed in the East Region. It’s the first time a conference has had three teams earn No. 1 seeds in the same year.

Carolina will play the first weekend in Columbus, OH, at Nationwide Arena.

Iona won the MAAC tournament championship.

This is the 17th time UNC has been a No. 1 seed, more than any other school.

Other teams in the Midwest Regional include No. 2 seed Kentucky, No. 3 seed Houston, No. 4 seed Kansas, No. 5 seed Auburn, No. 6 seed Iowa State, No. 7 seed Wofford, No. 10 seed Seton Hall, No. 11 seed Ohio State, No. 12 seed New Mexico State, No. 13 seed Northeastern, No. 14 seed Georgia State and No. 15 seed Abilene Christian.

Seven ACC teams earned bids, tied with the SEC for second-most among conferences behind eight from the Big Ten.

This is the second time one conference provided three teams as No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament field since seeds were established in 1979. The other was in 2009, when the Big East's Louisville, Connecticut and Pittsburgh were No. 1 seeds.

Stay with THI for more on UNC and the NCAA Tournament.