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North Carolina is the No. 8 seed in the East Region and will open play in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday versus No. 9 seed Marquette in Fort Worth, TX.
The Tar Heels (24-9) lost in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament to Virginia Tech on Friday night, but have won 12 of their last 15 games, including at Duke to conclude the regular season.
Carolina is an eight seed for the second straight year, as last season they lost to No. 9 seed Wisconsin in the first round. It was the first time in 30 seasons in the NCAA field a Roy Williams team lost in the first round.
UNC is the No. 8 seed for the fifth time in program history. In fact, UNC has now been to 41 NCAA Tournaments in the 43 years since the seeding process began in 1979, and this is just the eighth time the Tar Heels haven’t been a four seed or higher. It is also the tenth time they have not been at least a three seed.
Carolina will face Marquette (19-12), which is coached by former Texas coach Shaka Smart. Smart led Texas to a win over UNC in the championship game of the Maui Invitational in November 2020, a tournament that was played in Asheville, NC. The Heels also faced the Golden Eagles last season, suffering an 83-70 loss in the Smith Center.
The winner will play either No. 1 seed Baylor or No. 16 Norfolk State on Saturday in the second round.
The last time UNC played an NCAA Tournament game in the state of Texas was the 2016 national championship game, when Villanova beat the Tar Heels on a three-pointer at the buzzer.
UNC was also a number eight seed in Texas in 1990. That year, the Tar Heels defeated SW Missouri State in the first round and then upset No. 1 overall seed Oklahoma in the second round on a shot at the buzzer by Rick Fox. Those two games were played in Austin.
Stay with THI for more coverage about UNC and this year’s NCAA Tournament.
