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UNC Basketball: Tar Heels’ history of being an 8 seed

By Zack Pearson

24 Mar 2000: Ed Cota #5 and Joseph Forte #40 of the North Carolina Tar Heels look on from the court during the NCAA South Regional Game against the Tennessee Volunteers at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. The Tar Heels defeated the Volunteeres 74-69. Mandatory Credit: Elsa Hasch /Allsport
24 Mar 2000: Ed Cota #5 and Joseph Forte #40 of the North Carolina Tar Heels look on from the court during the NCAA South Regional Game against the Tennessee Volunteers at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. The Tar Heels defeated the Volunteeres 74-69. Mandatory Credit: Elsa Hasch /Allsport /
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KANSAS CITY, MO – MARCH 22: Marcus Paige #5 of the North Carolina Tar Heels looks on during a free throw during a game against the Villanova Wildcats in the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 22, 2013 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO – MARCH 22: Marcus Paige #5 of the North Carolina Tar Heels looks on during a free throw during a game against the Villanova Wildcats in the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 22, 2013 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

2013 (Reached second round)

The 2012-13 Tar Heels team was a year removed from reaching the Elite Eight before their season ended in disappointing fashion to Kansas. UNC had a national contender team the year before but saw their hopes dash when Kendall Marshall missed the final few games of the tournament with a hand injury.

But this team also ushered in a new era of UNC Basketball with freshmen Marcus Paige, Brice Johnson, J.P. Tokoto and Joel James. They did have some experience with James Michael-McAdoo, Reggie Bullock, Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald. This team never really seemed to find any consistency in the regular season, finishing the year 25-11 and 12-6 in the ACC.

Come tournament time, UNC drew a No. 8 seed against a No. 9 Villanova team that would feature  Ryan Arcidiacono who would be the starter in the 2016 meeting between the two teams as would Paige and Johnson. The Tar Heels were able to take care of the Wildcats in the first round, winning 78-71 to set up a meeting with No. 1 Kansas.

In that second round game, UNC played the Jayhawks tough early on taking a 30-21 lead into the break. UNC was determined to beat another No. 1 seed as an eight seed but a big second half from Kansas ended those dreams. Kansas rallied and dominated the second half en route to a 70-58 win.

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