Delirium Tournamens: UNC Second Round Edition
Apologies for the delay. You’d think it would be easy to get a blog post finished on time in this moment of social distancing and #stayathome, but alas it’s Sunday night and I’m just finishing what I meant to have done on Saturday morning.
2017 vs Arkansas
There was a moment — before Luke Maye’s shot, before Oregon forgot to box out on free throws, before Kennedy Meeks blocked Nigel Williams-Goss — where UNC’s 2017 title bid seemed dead in the water. After seemingly taking control of the game with a 15 point lead in the first half, everything started to go wrong for the Tar Heels. With the Razorbacks holding a 65–60 lead with less than four minutes remaining in the game, it seemed the redemption plane had crashed on the runway. Instead Arkansas wouldn’t score another point, as seniors Isaiah Hicks and Kennedy Meeks carried UNC into the second weekend. The emotional roller coaster continued through the night for UNC fans as South Carolina upset Duke in the following game.
2015 vs Arkansas
You don’t invade Russia in the Winter and you don’t run with North Carolina.
2012 vs Creighton
This one is bittersweet to be sure. Creighton was a popular upset pick going into this game and came out with an obvious intent to be the more physical team. The result was a series of dirty plays from the Bluejays — Echinque shoving Zeller, Grant Gibbs’ wrist slap and wink. But instead of throwing Carolina off, it sparked the Tar Heels into an offensive rampage.
The Tar Heels cruised to a decisive victory — albeit one that proved ultimately pyrrhic. About midway through the second half, Kendall Marshall was fouled hard by Ethan Wragge and landed on his left arm. In the moment Marshall seemed okay, returning to play late into the second half. It was only afterwards that the bombshell dropped — the UNC point guard had suffered a fractured scaphoid and would likely miss the remainder of the NCAA tournament. Carolina would survive to the Elite Eight before falling to Kansas, but for all purposes the season ended against Creighton.
2009 vs LSU
For whatever reason online footage/highlights of early round tournament games played during the second half of last decade and the first half of this one are difficult to find. The 2009 team romped their way through March Madness, winning by double digits in every round.
If there ever was a moment of doubt, it was in the second round versus LSU. With just over 12 minutes remaining LSU held a 5 point lead — the largest second half deficit Carolina would face all tournament. The Tar Heels fought back over the next several minutes then used an 11–0 run to put the game away. The most memorable moment of that scoring explosion was Ty Lawson — in his first game back from a late season ankle injury — leaving his defender in the dust with a killer crossover. It’s a shame there aren’t more extensive highlights from the game online, but at least Lawson’s crossover is preseved on YouTube.
2006 vs George Mason
As a UNC alum, its natural to view the Tar Heels as the protagonist of every NCAA tournament. But the reality is sometimes Carolina is simply a supporting character in another team’s legend. Such was the case in 2006 with George Mason. The seniors who would lead North Carolina ino glory were but fledgling freshmen at the time. The Tar Heels could have and probably should have stopped George Mason’s Cinderella run before it began, but instead ended up becoming a chapter in the Patriots’ surprise run to the Final Four. It’s hard to be too upset, considering that Hansbrough and company would eventually get their “happily ever after”.
2000 vs Stanford
Speaking of surprise runs to the Final Four, it’s rare the Tar Heels are even in position to make them. Bill Guthridge’s last team as head coach had a “disappointing” regular season and entered the tournament as an 8 seed. The roster in itself is fascinating — Ed Cota, Joe Forte, Jason Capel, Kris Lang and Brendan Haywood starting with Julius Peppers coming off the bench. The team’s second round upset of top seeded Stanford wasn’t beautiful basketball, but was nonetheless a memorable moment.
1990 vs Oklahoma
I won’t pretend I remember this game given I was 3 when it happened. But I have seen Rick Fox’s late shot played time and time again among the most memorable highlights in UNC basketball history. Carolina’s upset of top seeded Oklahoma kept alive a remarkable streak of consecutive Sweet 16 appearances under Dean Smith that stretched from 1981 to 1993.
1982 vs James Madison
Before Jordan hit the shot, James Madison gave the Tar Heels everything they could handle in the round of 32. While this was Carolina’s first game of the 1982 tournament, it technically was a second round game as the top seeded Tar Heels received a first round bye in the 48 team field.
Lastly some memorable games not on Youtube:
- 2014 vs Iowa State — Exciting back and forth game that ended with Deandre Kane’s driving basket to secure the win for Iowa State in the final seconds.
- 2011 vs Washington — Another close affair that saw Carolina secure victory when Isaiah Thomas’ desperation corner three in the closing seconds came up short.
- 1998 vs UNC-Charlotte — The 49ers pushed one of UNC’s most talented rosters to overtime before the Tar Heels were able to secure the victory by pulling away in the extra period.
