University of North Carolina Athletics
Woody: Another ACC Basketball Title?
March 10, 2000 | Men's Basketball
March 10, 2000
Carolina has already won six ACC championships during the current academic year.
If you remember five years ago when the Tar Heels set a conference record with 12 titles, their current total is not that impressive. However, last year they captured only four conference crowns, but Carolina was still able to match Clemson and Duke for the most championships.
So far, Carolina is already engraved on championship trophies in women's soccer, women's cross country, volleyball, women's indoor track and field, women's swimming and diving and wrestling. Women's basketball just missed earning another honor Monday night with a 79-76 loss to Duke in Greensboro. It was the first ACC title for the Blue Devil women who made it to last year's national championship game.
Sylvia Hatchell's teams have been in the ACC finals six of the last seven years, and they have four wins to offset losses the last two years to Clemson and Duke. The Tar Heels were seeded fifth in this year's event. That was due to a seven-game leave of absence by Nikki Teasley, but she returned just in time for Carolina to build a four-game winning streak going into the tournament, which included a home victory over Duke just eight days prior to their rematch in the ACC Tournament. Teasley, chosen the Tournament MVP despite the loss, averaged 18 points as the Tar Heels got past Clemson and top-seeded Virginia before running into Duke again. She threw down 31 points in the finals, including seven three-pointers, but it wasn't enough.
Hatchell thought the Tar Heels gave all they had against the Blue Devils, but fatigue was a factor. Carolina played three straight days, and Hatchell didn't think her team was as sharp defensively as it had been during the regular season finale in Carmichael Auditorium.
Getting into the finals, and pushing #11-ranked Duke to the limit should get Carolina into the Women's NCAA Tournament, but an 18-12 record will probably keep the Tar Heels from hosting first and second round games in Chapel Hill. Hatchell doesn't mind the travel, but she would like to stay out of the brackets against possible national champions. Carolina has been eliminated the last couple of years by eventual champs Tennessee and Purdue.
The Carolina men are probably going to the NCAA Tournament for a record 26th consecutive year, but with an 18-12 record, which earned a tie for the third in the ACC standings, they would like to go deep into this week's ACC Tournament and remove any doubt.
The Tar Heels have made the finals 23 of the last 33 years, and claimed 14 titles during that stretch. They earned eight berths in the championship game during the past decade, including the last three, and won four titles.
However, Carolina will be seeded fourth this week in Charlotte. It's only the sixth time the Tar Heels have been in that spot. In 1989, they became one of five teams to win the tournament as the fourth seed. The other years weren't quite as much fun. They got knocked out in the quarterfinals in 1962, 1965 and 1990, and they lost in the 1966 semifinals.
The Tar Heels have lost three of their last five games heading to Charlotte, but Dean Smith always believed a team didn't build momentum until it got into the tournament. Friday's high noon encounter with Wake Forest will be a difficult opener, but if Carolina gets past the Deacons there will probably be a Saturday rematch with top-seeded Duke. It would be interesting to see how the Tar Heels might fare against the Blue Devils if they could get past the first half with a reasonable loss of ball. In both games against Duke it's been greater than 30%, and Carolina just hasn't been able to completely climb out of the deep hole.
If the Tar Heels are finally able to value possession of the basketball, much of that burden will fall to Ed Cota. And, the stage seems to be set for him after the senior point guard was left off the All-ACC first team. Eighteen of the previous 46 recipients of the Tournament MVP award were not on the first-team. Twelve were left off both the second and third teams, and seven of those were Tar Heels. Remember the likes of Lee Dedmon, Phil Ford, John Kuester, Dudley Bradley, Sam Perkins, J.R. Reid and Jerry Stackhouse?
Carolina certainly won't be favored this weekend in Charlotte, but that doesn't mean the Tar Heels can't win. Bill Guthridge claims they're close to playing their best basketball. March is an excellent time to do it, and a seventh ACC title this season for UNC would be a fine way to start.
