University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Take on Wildcats in Men's West Regional
June 21, 1999 | Men's Basketball
March 9, 1999
By BRIAN MAHONEY
AP MegaSports Writer
Weber State is in the Big Dance again. Last time it was there, the players enjoyed themselves so much they forgot they weren't supposed to stay.
The 14th-seeded Wildcats (24-7) will make their first NCAA appearance in four years when they face perennial participant North Carolina (24-9), the third seed, in a West Regional first-round game Thursday in Seattle.
Weber State, the champion of the Big Sky Conference, last reached the NCAA tournament in 1995, also as a 14th seed. The Wildcats shocked third-seeded Michigan State in the first round and took sixth-seeded Georgetown down to the wire in the second round before falling.
The Wildcats earned the return trip with an 82-75 victory over defending Big Sky champion Northern Arizona in Saturday's championship game. Harold Arceneaux scored 27 points to pace Weber State.
"I always watched it on TV," Arceneaux said of the NCAA tournament. "I finally get a chance to go to the dance. It's really exciting."
Arceneaux and his teammates will be trying to extend the tenure of their coach, Ron Abegglen. Abegglen, in his eighth year at Weber State, agreed before the season to step down following its conclusion due to allegations he once hurt his wife in an altercation as well as various sanctions against the school due to violations committed by a former coach.
The Tar Heels have played in two straight Final Fours and have made five appearances in the 1990s. Last season, they reached the national semifinals in ill Guthridge's first season before falling to eventual runner-up Utah, giving them a total of 14 Final Four appearances.
North Carolina has not been as strong this season as a younger team struggling with consistency. The Tar Heels did reach the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game before getting routed 96-73 by top-ranked Duke.
The winner advances to a second-round meeting with either sixth-seeded Florida or No. 11 Pennsylvania.
