Among the many amazing numbers rolled out over the last two days about North Carolina’s NCAA Tournament history, Roy Williams’ and the depth of the Tar Heels’ schedule this season, UNC’s composite record versus teams in the current NCAA field is one of the more interesting.
Carolina played 10 of the teams in the 68-team field this season, compiling a 9-5 record. That’s pretty impressive considering the lowest seed among the 10 teams is Syracuse, the No. 8 seed in the West Region.
Thus, each of UNC’s 10 opponents that are in the tournament would have gotten there without winning their league tournaments, though two teams, Duke and Wofford, did. In addition, UNC played the other three 1 seeds a total of five times sporting a 3-2 mark in those games. UNC played seven games against teams on the top two lines.
Here is a quick breakdown of UNC’s 14 games versus what the committee deemed teams among the top 32 in the nation:
1-seed Duke – 2-1
7-seed Louisville – 2-1
1-seed Gonzaga – 1-0
4-seed Florida State – 1-0
4-seed Virginia Tech – 1-0
7-seed Wofford – 1-0
8-seed Syracuse – 1-0
1-seed Virginia – 0-1
2-seed Michigan – 0-1
2-seed Kentucky – 0-1
So, 14 games versus the above teams, adding up their seed numbers per each time UNC played them comes out to 53, so the average seed of UNC’s 14 games versus teams in the NCAA Tournament is 3.8.
UNC’s average statistical numbers for the 14 games:
*43.8 percent from the field, including 32.5 percent from 3-point range
*41.5 rebounds with 12.9 coming on the offensive glass
*12.3 turnovers per game against 16.9 assists per contest
UNC’s opponents’ statistical numbers for the 14 games:
*43.5 percent from the field, including 34.7 percent from 3-point range
*33.9 rebounds per contest with 8.6 coming on the offensive glass
*12.5 turnovers per game against `2.9 assists per contest
UNC individual stats for the 14 games:
*Cam Johnson: 49.4 FG percent, including 39.7 percent from 3-point range, 5.9 rebounds per game, 1.6 turnovers, 2.3 assists and 16.4 points per contest.
*Luke Maye: 41.3 FG percent, including 31.6 percent from 3-point range, 12.1 rebounds per game, 1.5 turnovers, 2.7 assists and 15.3 points per contest.
*Coby White: 37.2 FG percent, including 26.9 percent from 3-point range, 2.7 turnovers per game, 3.6 assists and 14.5 points per contest.
Note: White averaged 9.4 in UNC’s first five games against the teams noted above, but in the last nine games against the field, he’s averaged 17.3 points.