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NCAA Tournament: UNC lands number one seed in South Region

By Zack Pearson

Dec 7, 2016; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams reacts during the second half against the Davidson Wildcats at Dean E. Smith Center. The Tar Heels won 83-74. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 7, 2016; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams reacts during the second half against the Davidson Wildcats at Dean E. Smith Center. The Tar Heels won 83-74. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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The debate is finally over for the number one seeds in the 2017 NCAA Tournament

The North Carolina Tar Heels officially know their seed in the 2017 NCAA Tournament that will tipoff this week.

The Tar Heels will open up their NCAA Tournament run as a number one seed in the South Region taking on number 16 Texas Southern.

It’s the 16th time the Tar Heels have earned a number one seed in program history, the most among Division I schools. UNC was the third overall number one seed behind Villanova and Kansas.

They finished ahead of Gonzaga who was selected as the number one seed in the West Region.

Here is the official announcement as seen on CBS’ bracket show from Sunday:

UNC and Texas Southern will open in Greenville, South Carolina on Friday with the winner moving on to Sunday’s second round.

There was a debate as to whether or not the Tar Heels would keep their number one seed after losing to the Duke Blue Devils in the ACC semifinals on Friday.

The Tar Heels won the ACC regular season title by two games but the Blue Devils went on an impressive run which included four wins in four days to win the conference tournament.

Apparently in the selection committee’s eyes, the Tar Heels did enough to earn the seed and Duke moved up to just a two seed in the East Region.

UNC has a tough draw in the region however.

The number two seed is Kentucky and the three seed is UCLA. The Tar Heels could meet one of those teams if they reach the Elite Eight. That is of course if none of those teams are upset earlier in the region.

The Tar Heels and Wildcats met earlier this season in Las Vegas as part of the CBS Sports Classic with the Wildcats winning a thriller 103-100. Wildcats freshman Malik Monk scored 47 points including the game-winning three-pointer with seconds left.

The top half of the region features (8) Arkansas vs. (9) Seton Hall, (5) Minnesota vs. (12) Middle Tennessee and (4) Butler vs. (13) Winthrop.

UNC is looking to return to the Final Four for the second-straight season as last year they were a number one seed and lost to Villanova in the title game on a buzzer beater.

Related Story: Does UNC have a shot at Jeremiah Tilmon now?

Check back to Keeping It Heel for more coverage on the NCAA Tournament including full game information as the action begins Tuesday.

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