Four Corners: National Champs

CHAPEL HILL—In the week since last Monday night's NCAA championship game victory over Gonzaga in Phoenix, the Tar Heels have returned home to an adoring and roaring crowd in the Smith Center and begun to move on from a frenetic March run and into the postseason. Meanwhile, the news and notes about Carolina Basketball never seems to slow down.

On to this week's Four Corners.

1. NEWS & NOTES

♦ Carolina finished the year ranked No. 1 in the postseason USA Today Coaches Poll, released last Tuesday.

♦ There are some oddly similar statistics from UNC's last three NCAA championship teams. See below:

Carolina's Final Four opponents …

in 2005 scored 141 points (71 by Michigan State, 70 by Illinois)

In 2009 scored 141 points (69 by Villanova, 72 by Michigan State)

In 2017 scored 141 points (76 by Oregon, 65 by Gonzaga)

♦ In 2016, Syracuse and Villanova combined for 143 points as Villanova hit a last-second shot to beat the Tar Heels in the title game by three.

♦ Carolina also held Michigan State and Illinois to a combined field goal percentage in 2005 of .361. Villanova and Michigan State shot a combined 35.8 percent in 2009 and Oregon and Gonzaga combined to shoot 35.9 percent in 2017.

♦ Here's a good look from Adam Smith of the Burlington Times-News at how tough love and hard work helped Kennedy Meeks have a strong run of performances in the NCAA Tournament.

♦ ESPN.com ranked all 79 NCAA championship teams from 1939 to 2017 last week, and the Tar Heels dotted the list repeatedly. Five Carolina teams rated among the top 32 on the list, and all six UNC NCAA championship teams were in the top 42: 1957 (No. 8), 1982 (No. 9), 1993 (No. 28), 2009 (No. 30), 2005 (No. 32) and 2017 (No. 42). Other ACC teams in the top 42 included North Carolina State's 1974 team (No. 10), Duke's 1992 squad (No. 15), Duke's 2001 team (No. 24), Maryland's 2002 team (No. 36) and Duke's 2015 group (No. 38).

2. LAST WEEK

♦ Several days after the title game win, Adam Lucas provides some perspective on how this championship fits with those of Tar Heel past.

♦ In case you haven't watched these videos and relived these moments enough lately, here you go:

THIS IS CAROLINA BASKETBALL!

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!#GetIntoIt #OneShiningMoment pic.twitter.com/PUMfEdFYBM
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) April 4, 2017

Redeemed.#GetIntoIt pic.twitter.com/f4GsYGyXX5
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) April 5, 2017

From the FIRST day of practice....#NationalChampionship Cold Chills ❄️🏆❄️#GetIntoIt pic.twitter.com/O95E4S4C5C
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) April 7, 2017

I'm a Tar Heel born, I'm a Tar Heel bred #GetIntoIt #NationalChampions pic.twitter.com/6Ed2aZeGVK
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) April 5, 2017

3. UP NEXT

♦ Be on the lookout later this year for the official national championship book, Redemption: Carolina Basketball's 2017 Journey From Heartbreak to History, by Adam Lucas, Steve Kirschner and Matt Bowers. The insider's chronicle of the season will feature exclusive, behind-the-scenes photography, a forward from Roy Williams and insight into the moments on and off the court that built the Tar Heels into national champions.

♦ The deadline for underclassmen to declare their intentions regarding the NBA Draft is April 23, and players will have until 10 days after the draft combine (to be held May 9-14) to withdraw their names from the draft process.

4. DON'T MISS IT

♦ In case you missed this first-person account from Kennedy Meeks about the Final Four and what Carolina has meant to him, be sure to check it out.

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