Ranking All UNC’s Tournament Runs Under Roy Williams
By John Bauman
Feb 20, 2014; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels fans react in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
#6: 2007
2007 is the first non-Round of 32 appearance in the tournament for the Tar Heels to make this list. The 2007 Tar Heels were a rowdy bunch. Carolina was led that year by a nice mix of upperclassmen like Rayshawn Terry and Wes Miller and a host of young players like Brandon Wright, Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson. UNC won the ACC Tournament this year over N.C. State and entered the tournament as a #1 seed in the East Region.
In rounds 0ne and two, the Heels took care of Eastern Kentucky and Michigan State with ease. 5th seeded USC gave Carolina some trouble in the Sweet 16, but the Heels ended up winning by 10 points. In the Elite 8, with a trip to the Final Four on the line, the Heels would come up short against a Georgetown team that featured two future NBA stars in Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert.
UNC was a popular pick to win it all in 2007, so this tournament run can be viewed as a disappointment. However, the Heels would pick up the pieces from this loss to have a strong run at the championship in both 2008 and 2009, so the pain of 2007 ended up creating something positive.
Next: 2011