UNC get’s favorable draw in NCAA Tournament
By Zack Pearson
The North Carolina Tar Heels have earned themselves another number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. But who is really surprised?
The pre-season number one in the country expected to be a number one seed by season’s end, and although they struggled at times during the season, they are right there. For the Tar Heels, the Midwest region might be one of the best draws in all of the tournament. Being the number one seed, UNC is favored to win the region. I have a hard time seeing a team that can dominate UNC in all of the Midwest region.
Barring a miracle, Carolina will either play Creighton or Alabama in the second round. Neither of those teams really scare me. Sure Creighton can shoot the ball, but like Alabama they don’t match-up well with the Tar Heels in the front court. The Tar Heels length should be too much for either team to handle.
So Carolina gets a favorable second round match-up and should escape the opening weekend with little trouble. I hope.
The Midwest region boosts Kansas (2), Georgetown (3) and Michigan (4) as the top four seeds to go with North Carolina. Out of those teams, I can only see Kansas giving the Tar Heels a problem. That is if Kansas can make it that far. The Midwest region has some dangerous teams lurking to upset higher seeds. Those teams include North Carolina State, St. Mary’s, and Ohio.
So let’s look at the Tar Heels potential elite eight match-ups. Kansas, Georgetown, NC State, San Diego State, Belmont, Purdue, St. Mary’s and Detroit are the only teams that can face UNC in the elite eight. You can cross Belmont, Purdue, Detroit off the list realistically.
Georgetown and Michigan have potential for giving UNC a run, but overall the Tar Heels are just a better team. I’ll go on record as saying UNC will beat Kansas in the elite eight. In the end Carolina’s expierence and talent will trimuph the Jay Hawks and give Carolina fans some payback from that awful Final Four game a few years back.
If UNC makes it to the Final Four, they will take on the East region winner.
The top four seeds in the East are Syracuse (1), Ohio St. (2), Florida State (3) and (4) Wisconsin. I like all the potential match-ups looming for the Tar Heels in the Final Four, except for Florida State. The Seminoles have beat the Tar Heels twice this season already, including once for the ACC Tournament Championship.
The Seminoles pose a huge problem for North Carolina, again. They match-up well with the Tar Heels both in the front court and back court. Their stellar defense has given UNC fits in the two meetings, and I don’t see another reason why it wouldn’t again.
I’m not saying the Tar Heels can’t beat the Seminoles, but I’d rather play another team honestly.
With the loss of Fab Melo, Syracuse just lost all of it’s down low defense. There’s no way they would be able to match-up with the Tar Heels in the front court. Zeller, Henson and Barnes are just problems for the rest of Syracuse.
Both Ohio State and Wisconsin would be an interesting match-up. Both pose the talent to challenge the Tar Heels, but I feel like they don’t have enough star power to match them.
UNC wouldn’t have to play Kentucky until the National Championship, if both teams made it that far. The South and West regions boost teams like Michigan State, Duke, Missouri, and Kentucky who could all challenge the Tar Heels. Other then that the Tar Heels have a favorable road to get back to the Final Four.