UNC Basketball: Tar Heels win ‘Fox Sports Ultimate Fan Bracket’

UNC basketball fans deemed best in the nation after winning ‘Fox Sports Ultimate Fan Bracket’ tournament on Twitter

More than 2.3 million votes were cast in the three-week, 68-team online tournament, but it was the North Carolina Tar Heels that came out victorious in the ‘Fox Sports Ultimate Fan Bracket’ championship on Twitter Monday morning.

Nearly 120,000 votes were submitted from Friday to Monday in the Tar Heels’ championship round against the BYU Cougars. It came down to the smallest of margins as North Carolina mounted a last-minute comeback after trailing by four percent with just a few hours remaining. The Tar Heels enlisted the help of a number of their famous alumni including Rick Fox, Kenny Smith, Vince Carter, Sean May, Harrison Barnes and Coby White. The UNC basketball and football Twitter handles got involved, too, urging fans to vote for their beloved Tar Heels in order to earn the title of best college hoops fans in the nation.

And so they did, beating out a BYU fan base that requested support from a myriad of Duke-centric Twitter accounts. And one has to imagine that the Tar Heels were battling the likes of other blue blood fan bases and many of the ones from the West Coast, too, which were likely supporting BYU as the championship round underdog. It also took hard-fought victories over third-ranked Michigan, No. 6 Purdue, 13th-seeded Murray State, 8-seed North Carolina State and No. 16 Robert Morris along the way.

"“North Carolina’s last second victory over BYU in our National Championship is a fitting culmination of the extraordinary passion and engagement on display throughout our Ultimate Fan Bracket,” said David Katz, Executive Vice President & Head of Digital, FOX Sports. “We congratulate Tar Heel and Cougar fans around the world and thank all college basketball supporters for coming together to show their school spirit during this challenging time.”"

Thanks to their victory in the tournament, the Tar Heels are awarded a championship trophy and a billboard that will undoubtedly be placed in the most annoying (for Duke fans) and heavily trafficked part of Durham, North Carolina.

"“It’s truly a great day to be a Tar Heel,” added “Titus & Tate” co-host and North Carolina alum Tate Frazier. “I can’t wait to be a part of the billboard selection process and find the exact venue to properly bother hard-to-find Duke fans in Durham.”"

Now North Carolina fans can forever say that the Tar Heels won the tournament in April 2020. Stick with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on the UNC basketball program.