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University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Tulsa
Tar Heels Packing For Indianapolis
March 26, 2000 | Men's Basketball
March 26, 2000
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By JAIME ARON
AP Sports Writer
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - In a dazzling turnaround for a team that barely made the tournament, North Carolina is returning to the Final Four.
Only this time, the Tar Heels are underdogs. And, even stranger, they're being led by a freshman.
Joseph Forte, the first freshman to lead North Carolina in scoring, had 10 of his 28 points during a 14-4 second-half run that broke open a tie game and sent the Tar Heels to a 59-55 victory over Tulsa in the South Regional final Sunday.
"You can only dream about this," Forte said.
North Carolina (22-13) earned its record-tying 15th Final Four trip and third in the last four years. This one, though, might be the sweetest yet because the Tar Heels actually came into the tournament as long shots.
The Tar Heels stumbled into the NCAAs having lost four of six and were 7-8 since a January swoon knocked them out of the poll for the first time in a decade. Their No. 8 seed matched their lowest in 22 years of being seeded.
Tulsa (32-5) ended the greatest season in its history, having set a school record for wins and advancing its farthest in 12 NCAA appearances.
The loss was the Golden Hurricane's worst since a 41-point pounding by Duke in the second round of last year's NCAA tournament. Their previous four losses this season had been by a combined seven points, none by more than three.
Tulsa didn't go down quietly, not even with leading scorer David Shelton and emotional leader Eric Coley spending most of the game in foul trouble.
The Golden Hurricane's young, small lineup kept the game close the last five minutes of the first half, then refused to let UNC pull away despite Tulsa missing its first eight shots of the second half.
But with Shelton and Coley on the bench with foul fouls and 11:25 left, Forte led the winning rally.
His jumper gave North Carolina a 41-39 lead, then fellow freshman Julius Peppers made two free throws with 8:41 left that put the Tar Heels up for good.
Forte scored the next six points on a layup, two free throws and a baseline jumper to put North Carolina up 49-41 with 6:31 left.
Tulsa trailed by as many as 10 before making things interesting again in the final minutes.
A 9-2 run capped by Dante Swanson's steal and dunk got the Golden Hurricane within 55-52 with 1:05 left.
Forte, showing the poise that has helped him set North Carolina's freshman scoring record, hit two free throws to give the Tar Heels some breathing room. ut not for long. Swanson, who led Tulsa with 15 points, drilled a 3-pointer to make it 57-55.
That was Tulsa's last chance.
Coley fouled out with 18 seconds left and Cota hit one of two free throws, then Shelton missed badly with a wild 3-pointer that could have tied it with eight seconds left.
Forte grabbed the rebound and was fouled. As the teams walked to the other end of the court, 7-footer Brendan Haywood held his massive arms straight up and waved to the crowd.
Forte indeed made it hold up by drilling one more foul shot. He even was a key player in the postgame celebration, emerging from a pile of bodies holding the game ball, which he flung it high into the stands.
"We're just thrilled to death," Guthridge said.
By beating three straight higher seeds, North Carolina will join West champion Wisconsin as the first No. 8 seeds in the Final Four since Villanova won it all in 1985.
The Tar Heels will play Saturday against Florida-Oklahoma State winner.
Forte, who made 10-of-17 shots, and Haywood each had eight rebounds. Haywood and Jason Capel each had eight points.
Cota, who will be making his third Final Four trip, was held to five points, four assists and two rebounds.
Swanson was Tulsa's best shooter, hitting 6-of-8. The Golden Hurricane made only 37 percent of their shots.
Brandon Kurtz and Marcus Hill each had 11 points. Kurtz had nine rebounds. Coley finished with six points, four rebounds and one assist.
North Carolina has made the Final Four in every decade since the 1940s. The Tar Heels are going for their fifth and the most improbable title.
"We just became a team, playing together, doing what coach Guthridge wanted us to do," Cota said.
The Tar Heels had been a No. 1 or 2 seed in their previous seven Final Fours. They'd never gotten past the round of 16 with a lower seed.
According to the NCAA, North Carolina has one more Final Four appearance than UCLA. The governing body doesn't recognize the Bruins' 1980 trip, which was revoked as a punishment for rules violations.
