University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Open NCAA Play Vs. FGCU
March 17, 2016 | Men's Basketball
THE MATCHUP
♦ North Carolina (28-6) is the No. 1 seed in the 2016 NCAA Tournament East Regional and will open play in Raleigh on Thursday at 7:20 p.m. against No. 16 seed Florida Gulf Coast, which beat Fairleigh Dickinson on Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio.
♦ The winner of Thursday's contest will advance to an NCAA second round game on Saturday in Raleigh against either Southern California or Providence.
♦ Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Reggie Miller (analyst), Dan Bonner (analyst) and Lewis Johnson (reporter) will call the game for a TBS national TV audience (also online with the March Madness Live app).
♦ Westwood One Sports will carry the game nationally on radio and online. John Sadak (play-by-play) and John Thompson (analyst) will have the call.
TAR HEEL STORYLINES
♦ Carolina is the 2016 Atlantic Coast Conference champion, having won the regular season with a 14-4 mark and sweeping eventual NCAA Tournament foes in Pitt, Notre Dame and Virginia to win the ACC Tournament on March 10-12.
♦ UNC, the second overall seed in 2016 behind Kansas, is seeking its sixth NCAA championship and its third under head coach Roy Williams (2005, 2009).
♦ The Tar Heels have played in 18 Final Fours, most in history. Fourteen of those 18 Final Four runs began in the East Regional, and four began ion Raleigh (1968, 1977, 1982, 2008).
UP NEXT
♦ The winner of Thursday's game will advance to Saturday's second round against the winner of the game between No. 8 seed Southern California and No. 9 seed Providence.
♦ The NCAA East Regional will be in Philadelphia on Friday March 25 and Sunday March 27.
A TAR HEEL WIN WOULD ...
♦ Improve UNC to 29-6 in 2015-16.
♦ Improve Carolina to 51-10 as an NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed.
♦ Improve Williams' NCAA Tournament record to 66-23, including 32-10 at UNC.
♦ Improve Carolina to 8-1 in the NCAA Tournament in Raleigh.
♦ Mark UNC's 28th consecutive win in an NCAA Tournament game played in the state of North Carolina, improving the Tar Heels to 32-1 in-state in NCAA action.
♦ Improve Williams' career record as a head coach to 779-208 overall.
♦ Make Williams 361-107 at Carolina.
A TAR HEEL LOSS WOULD ...
♦ Drop Carolina to 28-7 in 2015-16.
♦ Drop UNC to 50-11 in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed.
♦ Drop Roy Williams' career record to 778-209 overall.
♦ Drop Williams to 65-24 in NCAA action overall, including 31-10 at UNC.
♦ Drop UNC to 7-2 in the NCAA Tournament in Raleigh.
♦ Make Williams 360-108 at Carolina.
♦ Snap UNC's 27-game winning streak in NCAA Tournament games played in North Carolina.
TAR HEEL TIDBITS
TEAM NOTES
♦ This season, Carolina won the regular-season title and the ACC Tournament in the same year for the 11th time (1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1977, 1979, 1982, 2007, 2008 and 2016). In eight of the previous 10 occasions, UNC subsequently advanced to the NCAA Final Four (1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1977, 1982 and 2008).
♦ This is the third time that Roy Williams has coached the Tar Heel to the regular-season and Tournament titles in the same year (2007, 2008, 2016).
♦ Four UNC players have at least 100 assists this year: Joel Berry II (121), Marcus Paige (104), Theo Pinson (103) and Justin Jackson (100). This season marks only the second time and the first since the 1972-73 season four Tar Heels have tallied 100 assists (George Karl 192, Bobby Jones 130, Donn Johnston 112, Darrell Elston 100).
♦ UNC's defense has allowed only one opponent to shoot 50 percent or better from the floor this season (Maryland at .508 on Dec. 1).
♦ The Tar Heels have held 25 consecutive opponents to under 45 percent in field goal percentage.
♦ Assist-Turnover Ratio: Carolina's assist-to-turnover ratio (1.66) ranks third in the nation and is the best of any Tar Heel team since turnovers were first recorded in 1981-82. The second-best figure is 1.53 in 1985-86. Other top-five seasons include 1.45 (2008-09), 1.45 (2011-12) and 1.42 (1997-98).
♦ Cutting Down on Turnovers: UNC is averaging 10.9 turnovers per game, the lowest figure of any Carolina team since turnovers were first recorded in 1981-82. Last year, the Tar Heels averaged nearly 13 turnovers per contest.
♦ There have been seven seasons in which UNC has committed fewer than 13 turnovers per game. The current record was set in 2013-14 (11.94 per game). The other seasons below 13 are 2011-12 (11.95), 2012-13 (12.3), 2008-09 (12.4), 1994-95 (12.9) and 1981-82 (12.9).
♦ Shooting 50 Percent: UNC is 18-1 this year when shooting at least 50 percent from the floor.
♦ Carolina is 175-16 under Roy Williams when its opponents shoot under 40 percent.
♦ UNC's three-point percentage of 31.4 would be the lowest in school history. The current low is 32.8 percent, set in 2010-11.
♦ 80 or More: Carolina has scored 80 or more points in 21 of 34 games and is averaging 82.9 ppg this season.
♦ The Tar Heels are 233-28 in 13 seasons under Roy Williams when they score at least 80 points (20-1 this season).
♦ 90 or More: The Tar Heels have scored 90 or more points eight times his season after doing so five times all of last year.
♦ 100 or More: UNC is 49-1 under Williams when it scores 100 points or more.
♦ Carolina is the first team in ACC history to win the ACC regular-season championship outright and have one player earn all-conference honors. Brice Johnson was a unanimous selection to the 2016 All-ACC first team by both the media and the coaches. No other outright champion ever had just one player on the first, second and third teams.
♦ The Tar Heels also have just one player in the top 25 in the league in scoring. Johnson is eighth at 16.6 points per game. The Tar Heels lead the ACC in scoring as a team at 82.3 points per game.
♦ Carolina's six losses have been by a total of 22 points. That's the fewest combined points in UNC's first six losses in a season since 1941, when UNC's first six losses were by a combined 17 points (and its first seven that year were by 18).
♦ Carolina tied its school record for regular-season ACC wins with 14. This is the ninth time UNC won 14 games (1957, 1984, 1987, 1993, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2016). The last five times were under head coach Roy Williams.
♦ UNC has three of the top 10 players in the ACC in assist/turnover ratio in Marcus Paige (second at 3.06), Theo Pinson (sixth at 2.34), and Joel Berry II (eighth at 2.24). No other school has more than one player in the top 10.
♦ 25-Point Games: No Tar Heel player scored 25 points in a game last season, but the team has had eight 25-point performances already this year by four different players: Justin Jackson (25 vs. Northern Iowa), Kennedy Meeks (25 vs. Temple), Marcus Paige (30 at Florida State) and Brice Johnson five times (25 vs. Tulane, 27 vs. UCLA, 39 at Florida State, 27 vs. Wake Forest and 29 vs. Duke).
♦ In the NCAA stats: The Tar Heels are 12th in the nation in scoring at 82.3 points per game, 14th in scoring margin at 12.8, third with an assist-turnover ratio of 1.66, fourth with 18.1 assists per game, 13th in rebounding margin (8.3) and 24th in field goal percentage (47.9).
♦ KenPom Ratings: Carolina is ranked No. 5 in the nation in the KenPom.com statistical rankings. UNC is fourth in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency (119.5) and 16th in adjusted defensive efficiency (94.0).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
♦ Roy Williams has won 360 games at Carolina, the fourth-most wins all-time by an ACC coach. Gary Williams is third with 461 at Maryland.
♦ Williams is 778-208 as a head coach, including 360-107 at Carolina, 155-61 in ACC regular-season games, 385-44 at home and 183-27 in the Smith Center.
♦ Brice Johnson leads the ACC with 20 double-doubles this season. He had 10 in 108 games in his first three seasons.
♦ Johnson is the only player in the ACC shooting at least 60 percent from the floor.
♦ Johnson is on pace to become the third Tar Heel to average a double-double in points and rebounds and shoot 60 percent (with Mitch Kupchak in 1975 and Bobby Jones in 1973) and the fifth Tar Heel in the last 39 years to average a double-double (with John Henson in 2011, Tyler Hansbrough in 2008, Sean May in 2005 and Antawn Jamison in 1998).
♦ Johnson has six games this season with 15 or more rebounds. He's the first Tar Heel to accomplish that since Sean May in 2004-05. The last Tar Heel with seven or more 15-rebound games in a season was Billy Cunningham with 12 in 1963-64.
♦ Johnson has 979 career rebounds, eighth in UNC history. Brad Daugherty is seventh with 1,003.
♦ Johnson has 1,602 career points, 25th in school history. Mitch Kupchak is 24th with 1,611, Hubert Davis is 23rd with 1,615, Jawad Williams is 22nd with 1,626 and Eric Montross is 21st with 1,627.
♦ Johnson is averaging a team-high and career-high 16.6 points and 10.6 rebounds per game this season. His previous career highs were 12.9 ppg and 7.8 rpg last season.
♦ Joel Berry II is only the second Tar Heel point guard to win ACC Tournament MVP honors, joining Phil Ford in 1975.
♦ Berry has the third-highest scoring increase in the ACC this season (+8.5 ppg) behind Duke's Grayson Allen and N.C. State's Cat Barber.
♦ Berry has scored in double figures in 23 of the last 25 games and 29 of 34 contests this season. As a freshman he scored in double figures one time.
♦ UNC is 27-2 this season when Berry scores in double figures.
♦ Berry hasn't committed a turnover in the last two games (his ninth and 10th games this season without a turnover).
♦ Marcus Paige has scored 1,754 points, 14th in Carolina history. Mike O'Koren is 13th with 1,765 and Michael Jordan is 12th with 1,768.
♦ Paige has 578 assists, 10th in school history. Jeff Lebo is ninth with 580. Kendall Marshall is eighth with 581 and Ty Lawson is seventh with 608.
♦ Paige has 197 career steals, tied with Rick Fox for third in UNC history. George Lynch is second with 241.
♦ Paige is one of four Tar Heels with 1,500 career points and 500 career assists (joining Phil Ford, Jeff Lebo and Kenny Smith).
NO. 3 IN FINAL AP POLL
♦ Carolina finished third in the final Associated Press poll of the 2015-16 season. That is Carolina's 35th Top 10 finish, including 24 of the last 36 years. It is UNC's highest finish since 2009, when Carolina finished second in the AP poll prior to winning the national title.
♦ This is UNC's 23rd top five finish but is the first time ever UNC finished No. 3.
♦ The No. 3 finish this season is the 11th top-20, the eighth top-10 and the sixth top-five finish in Roy Williams' 13 seasons at Carolina. Oveall in 28 seasons as a head coach, Williams has 23 top 20s, 17 top 10s and 13 top five finishs in the AP poll.
SERIES HISTORY
♦ Carolina has never faced Florida Gulf Coast in men's basketball. .
NCAA-RECORD 15 #1 NCAA SEEDS
♦ North Carolina has earned 15 No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, more than any school in the nation. Duke is second with 13.
♦ This season marks Roy Williams's 11th No. 1 seed in 28 years as a head coach, the second-most for any coach in history. Duke's Mike Krzyzewski is first with 13; UNC's Dean Smith is third with eight.
♦ UNC is 50-10 as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
♦ UNC's 15 No. 1 seeds have come in 1979, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2016.
CAROLINA'S HISTORY IN THE NCAA EAST REGIONAL
♦ Carolina is making its 28th NCAA Tournament appearance in the East Regional and its first since 2014.
♦ UNC is 61-14 in the NCAA East Regional.
♦ UNC has advanced to through the East Regional in 14 of its 18 Final Four seasons (1946-1957-1967-1968-1969-1972-1977-1982-1991-1993-1997-1998-2005-2008).
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY IN N.C.
♦ Carolina is 31-1 in NCAA Tournament games played in the state of North Carolina. That includes an 11-0 record in Charlotte, 7-0 in Greensboro, 7-1 in Raleigh and 6-0 in Winston-Salem.
♦ Carolina has won 27 consecutive NCAA Tournament games in the state of North Carolina, last losing on March 11, 1979, to Penn in Raleigh.
♦ Six of the last nine times that UNC's NCAA tournament road has included a stop in the state of North Carolina, the Tar Heels have advanced to at least the Final Four (2009, 2008, 2005, 1998, 1997, 1993). The exceptions came in 2007, 2011 and 2012.
♦ Carolina's last four national championship runs have started with first-round games in North Carolina (2009 in Greensboro, 2005 in Charlotte, 1993 in Winston-Salem and 1982 in Charlote and Raleigh).
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY IN RALEIGH
♦ Carolina is 7-1 and is making its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in Raleigh (1968-1977-1979-1982-2008-2016). The first six of those games were played at Reynolds Coliseum and the two wins in 2008 were at the RBC Center.
♦ UNC advanced to the Final Four in 1968, 1977, 1982 and 2008 after playing NCAA Tournament games in Raleigh.
♦ Roy Williams-coached UNC teams are 13-2 in Raleigh in PNC Arena, including an 11-2 mark against North Carolina State and a 2-0 record in two NCAA Tournament games in 2008.
♦ Carolina is 15-4 overall in PNC Arena, going 2-2 there prior to Williams' arrival at UNC.
♦ Carolina's NCAA history in Raleigh:
• UNC 91, St. Bonaventure 72 (1968 East semifinal)
• UNC 70, Davidson 66 (1968 East final)
• UNC 69, Purdue 66 (1977 East first round)
• Penn 72, UNC 71 (1979 East second round)
• UNC 74, Alabama 69 (1982 East semifinal)
• UNC 70, Villanova 60 (1982 East final)
• UNC 113, Mount St. Mary's (2008 East first round)
• UNC 108, Arkansas 77 (2008 East second round)
CAROLINA'S FIVE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
♦ Carolina has won five NCAA Tournament titles — in 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005 and 2009.
♦ The Tar Heels defeated Kansas in triple overtime to win the 1957 title behind National Player of the Year Lennie Rosenbluth. Carolina overcame 23 points and 14 rebounds by Jayhawk center Wilt Chamberlain. Joe Quigg hit two free throws with six seconds remaining in the third overtime to provide the winning margin in UNC's 54-53 victory.
♦ In 1982, James Worthy poured in 28 points and freshman Michael Jordan hit a perimeter jumper with 17 seconds to play to lead Carolina to a 63-62 win over Georgetown in the 1982 championship. The title was Dean Smith's first NCAA crown. Worthy and Jordan were joined in the starting lineup by Sam Perkins, Matt Doherty and point guard Jimmy Black.
♦ Eleven years after Smith's first NCAA triumph in New Orleans, sophomore guard Donald Williams scored 25 points in both the semifinal win over Kansas and the championship game against Michigan to lead UNC to another national title in the Superdome. Williams made five three-pointers and several key free throws late in the game. Senior forward George Lynch was the team's MVP that season and started along with center Eric Montross, forward Brian Reese, point guard Derrick Phelps and Williams. Senior Henrik Rodl and juniors Pat Sullivan and Kevin Salvadori were key reserves.
♦ Carolina won its fourth NCAA championship in 2005. UNC, ranked No. 2 in the final Associated Press poll, defeated No. 1 Illinois in the 2005 NCAA championship game in St. Louis. The national championship was the first for head coach Roy Williams in his fifth Final Four appearance. The UNC-Illinois game was the first meeting between the AP's No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the NCAA title game since 1975. Carolina advanced to the title game with an 87-71 win over Michigan State in the semifinals.
♦ In 2009, Williams guided the Tar Heels to their second title in five seasons when Carolina beat Villanova in the semis and Michigan State in the title game to capture the national crown. Wayne Ellington was named Most Outstanding Player, joining Worthy, Donald Williams and Sean May as Tar Heels to do so. The 17-point margin of victory over Michigan State in 2009 was greater than the combined margins in the Tar Heels' first four NCAA titles (13 – one in 1957, one in 1982, six in 1993 and five in 2005).
25 CONSECUTIVE NCAA APPEARANCES WITH AT LEAST ONE WIN FOR WILLIAMS
♦ With the win over Harvard in 2015, Roy Williams has won at least one game in each of his 25 NCAA Tournament appearances.
♦ Williams' 20 consecutive years with at least one NCAA Tournament victory from 1990-2009 are an NCAA record. Former UNC coach Dean Smith is second with 17.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
♦ Carolina is in the NCAA Tournament for the 47th time in 2015-16, second in NCAA history for most appearances by a program. Kentucky's 55 appearances rank No. 1, followed by Carolina's 47.
♦ UNC has reached 18 Final Fours, including at least one in seven consecutive decades between the 1940s and the 2000s. The 18 Final Four appearances are the most in NCAA history.
♦ Carolina has appeared in 156 NCAA Tournament games. Only Kentucky (168) has played in more.
♦ Carolina has a 112-44 NCAA Tournament record. That is the second-most wins, second-most games and fourth-highest winning percentage (.718) in NCAA Tournament history.
♦ The Tar Heels are tied for the third-most NCAA titles by a program in history with five. UCLA has 11 NCAA championships, Kentucky has eight and UNC, Indiana and Duke have five.
♦ Williams has taken seven of his teams to the Final Four, including three at Carolina (2005, 2008, 2009). Williams is one of 13 head coaches to win multiple NCAA championships. He guided the Tar Heels to NCAA titles in 2005 and 2009.
ROY WILLIAMS IN NCAA PLAY
♦ The Tar Heels are in the NCAA field in 2015-16 for the 12th time in 13 years under head coach Roy Williams. Williams has made 26 NCAA Tournament appearances in 28 seasons as a head coach.
♦ Carolina is 31-9 (.775) in NCAA play under Williams.
♦ Williams has 65 all-time NCAA Tournament wins, tied with former UNC coach Dean Smith for second all-time. Mike Krzyzewski of Duke is the leader with 87.
♦ Williams' Tournament winning percentage of .739 (65-23) is fourth among active coaches and fifth all-time (among coaches with 30 or more games).
♦ Williams is making his 26th NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 27 years. He took 20 teams in a row to the Tournament prior to missing the NCAA field in 2010. The first 14 of Williams' 24 NCAA appearances were at Kansas and the last 12 have been at Carolina.
♦ Williams' 20 straight NCAA appearances (1990-2009) are tied for the second-longest streak in NCAA history, trailing only the 23 in a row by Carolina's Dean Smith (1975-97).
♦ Williams has coached in 88 NCAA Tournament games, the third-most all-time behind Mike Krzyzewski (114) and Dean Smith (92).
CAROLINA IN THE EARLY ROUNDS
♦ Carolina has won at least one game in each of its last 13 NCAA Tournament appearances since a first-round loss to Weber State in 1999.
♦ That loss to Weber State in 1999 marked the only time in its last 31 NCAA Tournament appearances that Carolina has failed to win at least one Tournament game (since a second-round loss to Texas A&M after a first-round bye in 1980).
CAROLINA VS. THE 2016 NCAA FIELD
♦ Carolina has played 15 games this season against teams that were part of the 2016 NCAA Tournament field of 68.
♦ The Tar Heels are 10-5 in those games and have won five in a row.
DOMINANT ACC TOURNAMENT DEFENSE
♦ Carolina won the 2016 ACC Tournament with wins over a trio of 2016 NCAA Tournament teams in Washington, D.C.
♦ Carolina's defense limited its opponents to 37.1 percent shooting in the ACC Tournament.
♦ The Tar Heels held their opponents to 58.3 points per game and won their games by an average of 17.4 points per contest.
♦ UNC forced 13.0 turnovers per game and committed only 10.0 per game in the ACC Tournament.
♦ UNC held its ACC Tournament opponents to just 32.7 percent shooting from three-point range.
♦ Those efforts came against top opposing offenses. Virginia entered the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 9 in the nation in the KenPom.com adjusted offensive efficiency ratings. Notre Dame was No. 10 and Pitt was No. 33.
♦ The Tar Heels beat Pitt (No. 10 seed in the East Regional) by an 88-71 score, Notre Dame (No. 6 seed in the East Regional) by a 78-47 score and Virginia (No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional) by a 61-57 score.
♦ Pitt, Notre Dame and Virginia combined for 29 assists and 39 turnovers. UNC held the opponents under 45 percent in five of the six halves and under 40 percent in three of the last four halves.
♦ The 175 points allowed are the fewest in the eight ACC Tournament championship seasons won by Carolina since the shot clock was adopted. The previous low point total for three games was 1998 when UNC allowed 187 against NC State (46), Maryland (73) and Duke (68).
