University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: March 24 Flashback
March 24, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Looking back at key Tar Heel moments from this day in NCAA Tournament history.
By Adam Lucas
An improbable finish was the perfect way to win in what was becoming an improbable run to the Final Four. After Brendan Haywood fouled out with 8:30 remaining, Carolina somehow managed to go on a 13-0 run to beat Tennessee, 74-69, in the regional semifinal.
That meant the march continued for a team that had essentially been left for dead after a quarterfinal loss to Wake Forest at the ACC Tournament two weeks earlier. At that point, Bill Guthridge's squad had lost three of four and eight of its past 15. The Tar Heels had been inconsistent for much of the year, but had two key weapons to make a postseason run: point guard Ed Cota, who had already been to two Final Fours, and hot-shooting freshman Joseph Forte.
That backcourt duo scored 15 of Carolina's final 19 points after Haywood left the game, with Cota sinking both the game-tying basket and the go-ahead shot with two minutes remaining. The Tar Heels drilled six straight free throws in the final 35 seconds to seal the win. Forte had a team-high 22 points and Cota had 11 points, a team-high seven rebounds and five assists.
An animated and talented fourth-seeded Tennessee squad, led by the demonstrative Ron Slay, was a formidable challenge for the eighth-seeded Tar Heels. But they were not able to match the contributions of Julius Peppers off the bench, as the future NFL Hall of Famer played 20 minutes, scored six points to go with his six rebounds, and made a couple of clutch free throws with less than 30 seconds to play.
Guthridge's team would defeat a Tulsa squad coached by a youngster named Bill Self in the regional final to earn a spot in the Final Four.
Also on March 24
1991: It's easy to forget now how thirsty Carolina was for a Final Four in 1991. The Tar Heels hadn't advanced to the last weekend of the season since 1982, and had to sit by while Duke began an impressive string of Final Four appearances. The '91 team took Carolina back to the Final Four, putting four players in double figures (including Hubert Davis and Rick Fox with 19 apiece) to counter Temple's Mark Macon-centered attack (the Owl guard scored 31 but needed 23 shots to do it). King Rice made clutch free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.
2017: A Sweet 16 win over Butler is virtually forgotten because of the heroics two days later in the win over Kentucky. The postgame column after the weekend's first victory in Memphis focused on the very poor decision made by Butler when they tried to get physical with Joel Berry II.
2019: It was just one year ago, but this 81-59 victory over Washington feels like a very long time ago. Carolina's most recent NCAA Tournament victory felt at the time like a national title contender announcing itself as it advanced into the round of 16. Luke Maye had 20 points and 14 rebounds, Coby White scored 17, and in a very promising development, Nassir Little scored 20 off the bench. Later that week, the season was over, thanks in part to a poorly-timed flu bug. The largest bit of foreshadowing from this game? The toughness shown by Garrison Brooks, whose toughness was the subject of the postgame column.
An improbable finish was the perfect way to win in what was becoming an improbable run to the Final Four. After Brendan Haywood fouled out with 8:30 remaining, Carolina somehow managed to go on a 13-0 run to beat Tennessee, 74-69, in the regional semifinal.
That meant the march continued for a team that had essentially been left for dead after a quarterfinal loss to Wake Forest at the ACC Tournament two weeks earlier. At that point, Bill Guthridge's squad had lost three of four and eight of its past 15. The Tar Heels had been inconsistent for much of the year, but had two key weapons to make a postseason run: point guard Ed Cota, who had already been to two Final Fours, and hot-shooting freshman Joseph Forte.
That backcourt duo scored 15 of Carolina's final 19 points after Haywood left the game, with Cota sinking both the game-tying basket and the go-ahead shot with two minutes remaining. The Tar Heels drilled six straight free throws in the final 35 seconds to seal the win. Forte had a team-high 22 points and Cota had 11 points, a team-high seven rebounds and five assists.
An animated and talented fourth-seeded Tennessee squad, led by the demonstrative Ron Slay, was a formidable challenge for the eighth-seeded Tar Heels. But they were not able to match the contributions of Julius Peppers off the bench, as the future NFL Hall of Famer played 20 minutes, scored six points to go with his six rebounds, and made a couple of clutch free throws with less than 30 seconds to play.
Guthridge's team would defeat a Tulsa squad coached by a youngster named Bill Self in the regional final to earn a spot in the Final Four.
Also on March 24
1991: It's easy to forget now how thirsty Carolina was for a Final Four in 1991. The Tar Heels hadn't advanced to the last weekend of the season since 1982, and had to sit by while Duke began an impressive string of Final Four appearances. The '91 team took Carolina back to the Final Four, putting four players in double figures (including Hubert Davis and Rick Fox with 19 apiece) to counter Temple's Mark Macon-centered attack (the Owl guard scored 31 but needed 23 shots to do it). King Rice made clutch free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.
2017: A Sweet 16 win over Butler is virtually forgotten because of the heroics two days later in the win over Kentucky. The postgame column after the weekend's first victory in Memphis focused on the very poor decision made by Butler when they tried to get physical with Joel Berry II.
2019: It was just one year ago, but this 81-59 victory over Washington feels like a very long time ago. Carolina's most recent NCAA Tournament victory felt at the time like a national title contender announcing itself as it advanced into the round of 16. Luke Maye had 20 points and 14 rebounds, Coby White scored 17, and in a very promising development, Nassir Little scored 20 off the bench. Later that week, the season was over, thanks in part to a poorly-timed flu bug. The largest bit of foreshadowing from this game? The toughness shown by Garrison Brooks, whose toughness was the subject of the postgame column.
Players Mentioned
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