NCAA Tournament: Breaking down the Midwest Region for UNC Basketball
By Zack Pearson
We breakdown the Midwest Regional with the UNC Basketball program as the No. 1 seed and what the path to the Final Four looks like
The 2019 NCAA Tournament field is set and now the fun begins. The best four days of sports are finally here with the first round of the tournament tipping off on Thursday morning.
From there, 64 teams will battle over the next three weekends to earn the right to cut down the nets in Minnesota on April 8th.
For the North Carolina Tar Heels, they are seeking their second national championship in the three years after beating Gonzaga in 2017 to claim the title. The Tar Heels earned the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region, marking a record-setting 17th time they have been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
They were also a No. 1 seed when they won it all in 2017.
With the full 68-team field released, we wanted to break down the Midwest Region which looks tough at first glance. The Tar Heels are paired up with two other Blue Bloods in No. 2 seed Kentucky and then No. 4 seed Kansas, setting up a tough path to the Final Four for UNC.
But in order to be the best, you’re going to have to face some adversity and beat some of the best.
Here’s what the Midwest Region looks like:
(1) UNC vs. (16) Iona
(8) Utah State vs. (9) Washington
(5) Auburn vs. (12) New Mexico State
(4) Kansas vs. (13) Notheastern
(6) Iowa vs. (11) Ohio State
(3) Houston vs. (14) Georgia State
(7) Wofford vs. (10) Seton Hall
(2) Kentucky vs (15) Abilene Christian
That’s a tough region at first glance and does have some sleeper teams that could make a run to the Elite 8. But the games still have to be played and the beauty of March is that anything can happen.
Let’s take a look at the full Midwest Region breakdown ahead of Thursday’s first-round action in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.