Elite 8 Pre-Game Notes
USA Today
MEMPHIS, TN – Top seed North Carolina takes on No. 2 seed Kentucky for the South Region championship on Sunday at FedExForum. The winner will advance to the Final Four.
Here are some pre-game notes:
• No. 1 seed Carolina plays No. 2 seed Kentucky in the South Region championship game on Sunday, March 26th, at 5:05 p.m. Eastern (4:05 p.m. Central) in Memphis’s FedExForum.
• Carolina and Kentucky have combined for 244 NCAA Tournament wins. No other game in college basketball history has featured two teams with as many combined NCAA Tournament wins as the 2017 South Regional final.
• UNC has advanced to the Elite 8 with a 103-64 win over No. 16 seed Texas Southern, a 72-65 win over No. 8 seed Arkansas and a 92-80 win over No. 4 seed Butler.
• In 2009, Carolina advanced to the Final Four as the No. 1 seed after beating the 16, 8, 4 and 2 seeds, including No. 4 Gonzaga and No. 2 Oklahoma in FedExForum in Memphis.
• The Tar Heels are 30-7 overall. They went 14-4 in the ACC to win the regular-season title by two games over Florida State, Notre Dame and Louisville.
• The Tar Heels lost to Kentucky, 103-100, on 12/17/16 in Las Vegas in the CBS Sports Classic.
• This is Carolina’s 27th appearance in a regional final (including 1946 when the regional final was part of the Final Four). The Tar Heels are 19-7 in regional finals, including 4-3 under head coach Roy Williams. • This is the ninth time Carolina has played in a regional final featuring the top two seeds. The No. 1 seed is 4-4 in the eight previous such games (UNC is 3-3 as the No. 1 seed).
1987: #2 Syracuse def. #1 UNC
1988: #1 Arizona def. #2 UNC
1993: #1 UNC def. #2 Cincinnati
1995: #2 UNC def. #1 Kentucky
1998: #1 UNC def. #2 Connecticut
2007: #2 Georgetown def. #1
UNC 2009: #1 UNC def. #2 Oklahoma
2012: #2 Kansas def. #1 UNC
2017: #1 UNC vs. #2 Kentucky …
UNC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• Carolina is playing in the NCAA Tournament for the 48th time. That is the second-most appearances behind Kentucky (56).
• This is UNC’s 44th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last 51 years.
• Carolina is first in NCAA Tournament history in Final Fours (19), second in appearances (48), second in wins (120), second in games (165), fourth in winning percentage (.727) and tied for third in championships (five).
• Carolina’s win over Butler was its 120th NCAA Tournament win. Only three other schools have played that many NCAA Tournament games (Kentucky, Kansas and Duke).
• Carolina is 29-1 in the round of 64, 29-12 in the round of 32, 27-8 in regional semifinals, 19-7 in regional finals, 10-9 in national semifinals and 5-5 in national championship games.
TAR HEELS AS NO. 1 SEED
• Carolina is the No. 1 seed in the South Region. This is the 16th time UNC has earned a No. 1 since seeds were established in 1979.
• Carolina has earned more No. 1 seeds than any other school. Duke and Kansas are tied for second with 13; Kentucky has 12.
• Carolina has been a No. 1 seed in 1979, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1991,1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2016 and 2017.
• Carolina advanced to the Final Four nine times as a No. 1 seed – 1982, 1991, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2016.
• Roy Williams has earned a No. 1 seed for the 12th time. Only Mike Krzyzewski (13) has more. Dean Smith and Bill Self are tied for third with eight.
• Carolina is 58-11 as a No. 1 seed.
WILLIAMS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• Roy Williams is making his 27th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in his 29th year as a head coach. • Kansas was not eligible to play in the 1989 NCAA Tournament when Williams became the Jayhawks’ head coach; UNC played in the 2010 NIT.
• Williams is tied for fifth in NCAA Tournaments (27), second in wins (73), second in games (97), fourth in Final Fours (8), fifth in winning percentage among coaches with at least 50 games (.753), tied for sixth in titles (2), and is the only coach to win a game in 27 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
• Williams is 73-24 overall in the NCAA Tournament, including 39-10 at Carolina and 34-14 at Kansas.
• Williams is 27-0 in the first round (13-0 at Carolina), 18-9 in the second round (9-4 at UNC), 13-5 in the Sweet 16 (8-1 at UNC), 8-4 in the Elite Eight (4-3 at UNC), 5-3 in national semifinals (3-1 at UNC) and 2-3 in the championship game (2-1 at UNC).
• Williams is 39-9 as a No. 1 seed, including 30-4 at Carolina.
CAROLINA-KENTUCKY SERIES
• Carolina is 23-15 all-time against Kentucky with seven wins in the last 12 meetings.
• Carolina is the only school in the country with 10 or more wins and a winning record against Kentucky. Central (9-7) and Saint Louis (9-8) are the only other schools with at least five wins and a winning record vs. UK.
• Carolina is 2-1 against Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament. All three previous games in the NCAA Tournament were also played in regional finals with a trip to the Final Four at stake.
• UNC beat the Cats in 1977 in College Park and in 1995 in Birmingham in regional finals; Kentucky beat UNC in Newark in 2011. • Carolina is 11-5 against Kentucky at neutral sites, including 2-1 in Charlotte, Greensboro and Louisville; 1-0 in Atlanta, Birmingham, College Park, East Rutherford, N.J., and Raleigh; and 0-1 in Newark and Las Vegas. • This is the 14th time in 39 meetings both teams are ranked in the AP top 10. Carolina is 8-5 in those previous 13 games. • Roy Williams is 7-6 against Kentucky at North Carolina and 8-9 overall.
DECEMBER 17, 2016 KENTUCKY 103, UNC 100
• Freshmen guards Malik Monk (47 points) and De’Aaron Fox (24 points, 10 assists) combined for 71 points to lead Kentucky to a 103-100 win over UNC on 12/17 in Las Vegas in the CBS Sports Classic.
• It was the second time in UNC history and the first time in a regulation-length game UNC lost a game when it scored 100 points.
• Carolina lost 119-114 in triple overtime to Wake Forest on 12/20/2003 (Roy Williams’ first ACC game as head coach).
• Carolina had won 51 straight games when scoring 100 points.
• UNC had won 27 straight when scoring 80 points and 15 in a row when scoring 90.
• UK became the first team to score 100 vs. UNC since Texas beat UNC, 103-90, in the Dallas Cowboys Stadium on 12/19/2009.
• It was the 10th game in UNC history both teams scored 100 or more points and just the fourth in a 40-minute game.
• Carolina shot 53.0 percent from the floor. It was the fourth time in 184 games UNC shot 50 percent from the floor under head coach Roy Williams and lost.
• UNC had won 21 straight times when shooting 50 percent from the floor.
• Carolina was out-rebounded for one of three times this year (UK 39, UNC 35).
• Justin Jackson scored a career-high 34 points (previous was 27 twice). Jackson was 10 for 17 from the floor (previous high was nine field goals), 4 for 7 from three and 10 for 15 from the line.
• The 47 points were the most against a Roy Williams-coached UNC team (previous was 46 by Tyrese Rice at Boston College on 3/1/2008).
• Monk’s 47 points were the most ever by a freshman in a UNC game (for or against).
• The 18 field goals by Monk were the most against a Roy Williams-coached UNC team (previous 14 by Rice at BC).
• Monk’s eight three-pointers were the most by an opponent since Deividas Dulkys of Florida State made eight in Tallahassee on 1/14/12.
• UK freshman De’Aaron Fox had 24 points and 10 assists, the first points-assists double-double vs. UNC since Pitt’s Cameron Wright on 2/14/15.
• Kentucky shot 54.1 percent from the floor, the second highest percentage vs. UNC this year.
1-NORTH CAROLINA VS. 2-KENTUCKY
Sunday, March 26, 2017
4:05 p.m. Central
FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tenn.
TV: CBS – Jim Nantz, Grant Hill, Bill Raftery, Tracy Wolfson
UNC Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network – Jones Angell, Eric Montross, Adam Lucas, Dave Nathan
Westwood One Radio: Gary Cohen, P.J. Carlesimo
Satellite Radio: Sirius/XM 84
North Carolina Tar Heels
2016-17 Record: 30-7, 14-4 ACC (1st)
Head Coach: Roy Williams (UNC ‘72)
Williams’ Overall Record: 813-216 (29th year)
Williams’ Record at UNC: 395-115 (14th year)
Rankings: #6 AP, #8 USA Today/Coaches
Kentucky Wildcats
2016-17 Record: 32-5, 16-2 SEC (1st)
Head Coach: John Calipari
Calipari’s Overall Record: 652-190 (25th year)
Calipari’s Record at UK: 249-52 (8th year)
Rankings: #5 AP and USA Today/Coaches
