UNC Basketball: Tar Heels earn No. 1 seed in Midwest Region

The UNC Basketball program is a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for a record 17th time as the committee announced the full 68-team field

After a few days of debate, stress, excitement and any other emotion that ran through your body, we finally got the answer.

The North Carolina Tar Heels are indeed a No. 1 seed in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, earning the top seed in the Midwest Region. The selection committee revealed the full 68-team bracket on Sunday afternoon, placing the Tar Heels as one of three Atlantic Coast Conference teams to get a No. 1 seed in this tournament.

Duke and Virginia also earned No. 1 seeds this year, marking the first time a conference has had three No. 1 seeds since 2009.

UNC will match up against No. 16 Iona in the first round of the tournament on Friday and if they advance will take on the winner of No. 8 Utah State vs. No. 9 Washington  The first two games will be played in Columbus, Ohio with the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 in Kansas City.

Kentucky earned the No. 2 seed in the Region, followed by No. 3 Houston, and No. 4 Kansas. Check out the full region below:

This is the 17th time the Tar Heels have earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the most all-time among college basketball program. It’s also the second time in three years that the Tar Heels have been a No. 1 seed, with the last time being in 2017 when they would go on to win the national championship.

Last season, UNC earned a No. 2 seed and fell in the second round to Texas A&M in blow out fashion. With several players returning from last season’s team, the ultimate goal is to get back to the Final Four and win it all.

The NCAA Tournament will begin Tuesday night with two First Four games. The first round will begin Thursday and continue through Friday. For more on the UNC Basketball program, please check back with Keeping It Heel.