Takeaways from the First Weekend of the NCAA Tournament

Mar 21, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Brice Johnson (11) tries to save a ball from going out of bounds against the Arkansas Razorbacks as Tar Heels forward J.P. Tokoto (13) watches at leftin the second half of a game in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Here are a few takeaways for the North Carolina Tar Heels from the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

North Carolina is moving on! The Tar Heels won last night over the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Round of 32 to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2012. UNC won two games in a span of around 72 hours and now has some time to rest, come home and prepare for a cross-country flight to Los Angeles for the Regional Semifinals next weekend.

North Carolina will most likely be facing Wisconsin in the Round of 16 and Arizona in the Round of 8, so the road to the Final Four is still a long and hard one for the Heels. But, the good news is UNC took care of business this weekend and will have a chance to compete and upset some of the big boys to maybe get a shot at advancing to the Final Four.

Before looking ahead to next week’s games, let’s look back on the past weekend of play and see what takeaways can be found by looking at UNC’s last two games.

Let’s start by looking at the play of Marcus Paige…

Next: Marcus Paige Takeaway