March 15, 2009
CHAPEL HILL - The University of North Carolina men's basketball team has earned a No. 1 seed in the 2009 NCAA Tournament and will open play on Thursday against No. 16 seed Radford (21-11) in Greensboro, N.C. The Tar Heels (28-4) are a top seed for the 13th time, an NCAA record.
Carolina and Radford will play on Thursday in Greensboro, with the winner set to play on Saturday against the winner of the game between No. 8 seed Louisiana State (26-7) and No. 9 seed Butler (26-5). UNC hopes to advance to the Sweet 16 in Memphis, Tenn., the following weekend.
"We are ecstatic to be in the Tournament as a number one seed," Carolina head coach Roy Williams said on Sunday evening. "Our body of
work for the season has been very good and we appreciate that the NCAA
selection committee recognized and rewarded us for that. We would have loved
to win the ACC Tournament, as well, but we congratulate Duke for winning
today. I am extremely happy that seven ACC teams made the field. I would
have loved for an eighth team to make it, but still I am very happy about
getting seven in.
"Playing in Greensboro is great for our fans and students, but now we have
to play well no matter where or when we play. Every coach in the field
thinks his draw is the toughest and I am no exception. However, we can't be
concerned with what the other teams in the field are doing. We have to
concern ourselves with our team and how we are playing."
UNC is one of seven Atlantic Coast Conference teams to make the 2009 NCAA Tournament field, joining Duke (No. 2 seed in the East), Wake Forest (No. 5 in the Midwest), Florida State (No. 5 in the East), Boston College (No. 7 in the Midwest), Clemson (No. 7 in the South) and Maryland (No. 10 in the West). Michigan State, another Tar Heel opponent in 2008-09, is the No. 2 seed in the Midwest.
The Tar Heels have gone 6-4 in their 10 games during the 2008-09 season against seven teams in the 65-team 2009 NCAA Tournament field.
Carolina NCAA Tournament Notes:
• The 2009 NCAA Tournament marks the 41st appearance by the Tar Heels, tying
UCLA for the second-most all-time.
Carolina has a 96-39 record. That is the second-most wins, second-most
games and third-highest winning percentage (.711) in NCAA Tournament
history.
The No. 1 seed is the 13th for the Tar Heels since the NCAA began seeding
the field in 1979, that is three more than any other school has received.
This is the ninth No. 1 seed for Roy Williams, the second-most for any
coach in history. Duke's Mike Krzyzewski is first with 10; Dean Smith is now
third with eight.
This is Carolina's fourth No. 1 seed in the last five years under head
coach Roy Williams.
UNC's 13 No. 1 seeds have come in 1979, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1991, 1993,
1994, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
The Tar Heels won the national championship as a No. 1 seed in 1982, 1993
and 2005, and also reached the Final Four in 1991, 1997, 1998 and 2008.
The Tar Heels are 3-0 in NCAA Tournament play in Greensboro (beat James
Madison in 1983, beat Michigan State and Connecticut in 1998).
Carolina is 41-9 in NCAA play as a No. 1 seed.
Carolina and Radford will be playing for the first time.
Carolina assistant coach Steve Robinson was graduated from Radford in 1981
and was basketball team captain in 1980 and 1981. He also has a master's
from Radford and is a member of the school's Hall of Fame.
The Tar Heels are 9-2 against LSU and 2-1 against Butler. Carolina and LSU
last met on Dec. 18, 1996, in the Greensboro Coliseum (a 67-48 Tar Heel
win). The Tar Heels and Butler last met on Jan. 24, 1994 (a 104-64 UNC win).
Roy Williams has led his teams at Kansas and North Carolina to 20
consecutive NCAA Tournaments, officially the second-longest streak in NCAA
history (Dean Smith, 23). It is the longest active streak in the country.
Williams is the only coach in history to win a game in 19 straight NCAA
Tournaments.
Williams has a 49-18 record in NCAA Tournament play. The 49 wins are third
most all-time behind Mike Krzyzewski's 69 and Dean Smith's 65.
Williams has coached in 67 NCAA Tournament games, the fifth-most all-time
behind only Dean Smith (92), Mike Krzyzewski (90), Lute Olson (73) and Bob
Knight (70).
Williams has led Kansas and North Carolina to six Final Fours, including
four in the last seven years. His Kansas teams went to the Final Four in
1991, 1993, 2002 and 2003. Williams has led the Tar Heels to the Final Four
in 2005 and 2008. Only John Wooden (12), Dean Smith (11) and Mike Krzyzewski
(10) have been to the Final Four more.
