The 2021 NCAA Tournament field of 68 was officially unveiled on Sunday evening, with North Carolina selected as the No. 8 seed in the South Region.
The Tar Heels are 18-10 after winning two games in the ACC Tournament this past week, eventually losing to Florida State in the semifinals on Friday night.
UNC will face No. 9 seed Wisconsin in the first round Friday, March 19. If the Heels win, they will play the winner of the No. 1 seed Baylor and No. 16 seed Hartford game in the second round on Sunday, March 21.
With all this in mind, here’s an in-depth look at Carolina’s opening round opponent in Wisconsin as well as its potential second round opponents in Baylor and Hartford. Note, we are only looking at the four teams in UNC's bracket for the first weekend.
Wisconsin Badgers (17-12, 10-10 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Greg Gard (6th season)
Top Five Players: Senior 6-foot-0 G D’Mitrik Trice (13.7 ppg, 4.0 ast), senior 6-foot-10 F Micah Potter (12.8 ppg, 50.6 FG%, 5.9 rebs), senior 6-foot-4 G Brad Davidson (9.4 ppg, 1.1 stl), senior 6-foot-8 F Aleem Ford (8.7 ppg, 4.2 rebs), senior 6-foot-11 G Nate Reuvers (8.2 ppg in 20.9 mpg)
Five Best Wins: Loyola Chicago, Louisville, at Michigan State, at Maryland, at Rutgers.
Three Worst Losses: at Marquette, Maryland, at Penn State
Last Ten Games: at Illinois (L), at Nebraska (W), Michigan (L), Iowa (L), at Northwestern (W), Illinois (L), at Purdue (L), at Iowa (L), Penn State (W), Iowa (L)
NCAA Tournament History: 24 total appearances, four Final Fours, one national championship (1941), 38-23 overall record.
UNC Series History: 3-1 (Two in the NCAA Tournament, one in the Maui Invitational and one in Chapel Hill)
Notable NCAA Stats: No. 217 in scoring at 69.6 ppg, No. 37 in scoring D at 64.3 ppg, No. 267 in FG% at 42.1, No. 121 in FG% D at 42.3, No. 240 in rebound margin at minus-1.7
KenPom Rankings: No. 32 adjusted offensive efficiency, No. 13 adjusted defensive efficiency, No. 326 in adjusted tempo, No. 2 in turnover rate, No. 288 in offensive rebound rate at just 23.6 percent.
Interesting Tidbits: The Badgers won 12 of their first 15 games. Seven of the Badgers’ 10 conference wins came against teams with overall losing records, with their last win over a team with a winning record coming on Jan. 27.
Baylor Bears (22-2, 13-1 Big XII)
Head Coach: Scott Drew (18th season)
Top Five Players: Junior 6-foot-3 G Jared Butler (17.1 mpg, 2.0 stl), senior 6-foot-4 G Macio Teague (16.2 ppg, 4.2 rebs), junior 6-foot-2 G Davion Mitchell (14.1 ppg, 5.4 ast), sophomore 6-foot-3 G Adam Flagler (8.7 ppg), junior 6-foot-9 G/F Matthew Mayer (8.0 ppg in 14.9 mpg)
Five Best Wins: Illinois, Kansas, at Texas, at West Virginia, Oklahoma State
Worst Losses: Only lost two games to Kansas (71-58) and Oklahoma State (83-74) in the Big 12 Championship.
Last Ten Games: Kansas State (W), Auburn (W), at Texas (W), Iowa State (W), at Kansas (L), at West Virginia (W), Oklahoma State (W), Texas Tech (W), Kansas State (W), Oklahoma State (L)
NCAA Tournament History: 12 total appearances, two Final Fours, 14-14 overall record.
UNC Series History: Never played.
Notable NCAA Stats: No. 3 in scoring at 84.4 ppg, No. 62 in scoring D at 66.4 ppg, No. 4 in scoring margin at plus-18.0, No. 55 in rebound margin at plus-4.4, No. 10 in assist/turnover margin, No. 14 in FG% at 49.3, No. 168 in FG% D at 43.3, No. 1 in 3-point% at 41.8.
KenPom Rankings: No. 3 in adjusted offensive efficiency, No. 44 in adjusted defensive efficiency, No. 4 in offensive rebounding at 37.5 percent, No. 179 in adjusted tempo.
Interesting Tidbit: Despite only losing two games, the Bears had eight games cancelled this season, including five in conference play. After starting the season 17-0, Baylor was shut down for 21 days due to multiple positive COVID tests.
Hartford Hawks (15-8, 8-6 American East)
Head Coach: John Gallagher (10th season)
Top Five Players: Senior 6-foot-4 G Austin Williams (13.7 ppg, 6.2 rebs), Senior 6-foot-1 G Traci Carter (11.7 ppg, 2.6 stl), Sophomore 6-foot-3 G Moses Flowers (11.6 ppg in just nine games), Sophomore 6-foot-10 F Miroslav Stafl (10.4 ppg, 5.6 rebs), Junior 6-foot-9 F Hunter Marks (9.7 ppg, 5.9 rebs in 34.8 mpg)
Three Best Wins: at UMBC, Albany, UMass Lowell in American East championship game
Three Worst Losses: NJIT, Stony Brook, at UMass Lowell
Last Ten Games: at UMBC (W), at UMBC (L), at Stony Brook (W), at Stony Brook (L), NJIT (L), NJIT (W), Binghampton (W), Albany (W), at Vermont (W), UMass Lowell (W)
NCAA Tournament History: First ever appearance
UNC Series History: Never played.
Interesting Tidbit: The Hawks’ American East championship was their first-ever in program history. Thirteen of Hartford’s 15 wins have come against teams with overall losing records.
