University of North Carolina Athletics
CAR-O-LINES
March 21, 2000 | Men's Basketball
March 21, 2000
By Rick Brewer
North Carolina's matchup against Tennessee in the South Regional semi-finals Friday night is strangely an unusual one.
When The Tar Heels meet the Volunteers at The Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Tex., it will be the first meeting between these teams in over half a century.
Carolina has not played Tennessee on the basketball court since January 31, 1949 in Knoxville. What makes this so unusual is the fact these are the state universities from adjoining states and both have outstanding all-around athletic programs.
In addition, both have been very successful in basketball. Carolina's record, of course, is well known. The Tar Heels have now won 20 or more games for 30 consecutive seasons and have advanced to an NCAA Regional for the 17th time in 20 years.
With 1,753 victories, Carolina trails only Kentucky on the all-time victory list. The Tar Heels are making their 34th trip to the NCAA Tournament this season and a record 26th in a row.
Tennessee has won seven Southeastern Conference championships and, under the direction of Ray Mears and Don DeVoe, won 20 or more games 13 times from 1965 to 1985.
Since Jerry Green took the head coaching job there three years ago, the Vols have posted records of 20-9, 21-9 and 26-6. Green has deep ties to North Carolina. He's an Appalachian State graduate and coached on the high level in this state before being named basketball coach at UNC-Asheville in 1980. He left there to become an assistant on Roy Williams' first staff at Kansas.
He then took the head coaching job at Oregon in 1993 and in five years rebuilt that program. That led to the Tennessee job. All three of his Volunteer teams have reached the NCAA Tournament.
For a number of years Green worked at Carolina's Summer Basketball Camp for Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge.
So, why haven't the schools played?
Well, one possible explanation is the Tar Heels have had such a long series of games with Kentucky, another SEC power. Plus, there have been a couple of series with Vanderbilt and a number of games with LSU. Tar Heel coaches have preferred not to annually face three or four schools >from the same conference, wanting to schedule teams from different parts of the country to face as many different styles as possible to better prepare for Atlantic Coast Conference competition and post-season play.
By the same token, Tennessee has played ACC opponents Wake Forest, Duke, Clemson and N.C. State a number of times since last facing Carolina.
In recent years Guthridge and Smith have agreed to play other teams >from Tennessee, Middle Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech, who are coached by former UNC players Randy Wiel and Jeff Lebo. Wiel and Lebo felt these games would help build their programs.
Still, it's odd that Carolina and Tennessee have not somehow met up just by accident in a regular-season or post-season tournament in this period. The Tar Heels have played every other SEC team, except Mississippi, since last facing Tennessee.
The showdown finally comes up Friday night and the stakes could not be any higher with the chance to advance further into the NCAA Tournament riding on the outcome.
THE NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE -- Certainly, one of the keys for North Carolina's selection to the NCAA Tournament was its rugged non-conference schedule.
Of the remaining 16 teams in the NCAA Tournament, Carolina and UCLA have played more non-conference games against the rest of the field than anyone else. Each has faced four teams not in its own league who are still alive in the chase for the national championship.
The Tar Heels have beaten Purdue and Miami, while losing to Michigan State and the Bruins. UCLA also is 2-2 against the remaining 16 teams with wins over Carolina and Purdue and losses to Gonzaga and Syracuse.
Purdue and Syracuse are the only other schools left in the field who have played more than one game against a non-conference opponent still in the Tournament. The Boilermakers have faced Carolina, UCLA and Florida, while Syracuse has taken on UCLA and Wisconsin.
Of course, with the ACC, Big East, Southeastern Conference, Big XII and Big Ten having multiple teams still playing, all of the final 16 teams have played at least one game against some opponent in the field. But, of course, those conference games had to be played.
Two of the three remaining teams which have not faced any non-conference opponents in the field are clearly two of the favorites for the NCAA title -- Duke and Iowa State. Surprising Seton Hall, which stunned Temple last weekend, is the other.
PRACTICE IN AUSTIN -- NCAA rules require teams to practice at the site of the competition on the day before they play. Carolina is scheduled to work out at The Frank Erwin Center from 1 p.m. to 1:50 p.m., Central Time, on Thursday.
Friday's opening game there will pit Miami against Tulsa at 6:55 p.m., local time. The Tar Heels and the Volunteers will play approximately 25 minutes after the conclusion of the first game or about 9:30, Central Time.
