Keeping It Heel
Fansided

UNC Basketball: Tar Heels’ toughest moments of the past 20 years

By Blake Cockrum

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 01: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts during the second half of their game against the Boston College Eagles at the Dean Smith Center on February 01, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Boston College won 71-70. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 01: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts during the second half of their game against the Boston College Eagles at the Dean Smith Center on February 01, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Boston College won 71-70. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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GREENSBORO, NC – MARCH 18: Kendall Marshall #5 of the North Carolina Tar Heels talks with John Henson #31 in the first half against the Creighton Bluejays during the third round of the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum on March 18, 2012 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

The 2012 NCAA Tournament

The 2011-12 Tar Heels are among the best I’ve seen during the Roy Williams era at North Carolina, which makes it that much more of a shame how the season ended.

Heading into the 2012 NCAA Tournament, the Tar Heels were 29-5 and winners of the ACC regular season, which earned them a 1-seed in the Midwest Region. They looked like one of the two best teams in college basketball at that point, with the Kentucky Wildcats being the other. North Carolina had already lost to the Wildcats in a thrilling 73-72 December game, and were poised for a rematch in the Big Dance.

Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, though, that rematch never happened. Marshall, the team’s starting point guard and winner of the 2012 Bob Cousy Award, fell victim to a season-ending wrist injury in the Tar Heels’ second round game against Creighton. They did win the game, however, and then beat the No. 13 seed Ohio Bobcats in the Sweet 16 with freshman point guard Stilman White filling in admirably for the injured Marshall.

But that was the last game that North Carolina would win that season, as they simply couldn’t overpower the Kansas Jayhawks in the Elite 8 without the catalyst of their high-octane offense. The 80-67 defeat spelled the end of the season for the Tar Heels, and further fueled a bitter hatred for UNC fans toward the Creighton Blue Jays that will likely persist for many years to come.

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