Tar Heels receive #8 seed in NCAA Tournament

#8-seed North Carolina will play #9-seed Villanova in the first round of the NCAA tournament South region in Kansas City, Missouri on Friday, March 22 at 7:20 pm on TNT. If the Tar Heels win they will likely face Roy Williams' former team, #1-seed Kansas, in the second round.

Assuming North Carolina continues to advance while the remaining higher seeds advance, UNC's path to the Final Four would look like this:

Villanova > Kansas > Michigan > Georgetown

Many UNC fans expected the Tar Heels to receive a slightly higher seed, but it appears that most of the ACC teams selected drew tough roads to the Final Four.

Duke received a #2 seed in the Midwest Region and will play Friday against #15-seed Albany. Should they win that game, they will likely face UNC's 2012 tournament nemesis Creighton in the second round, followed by Michigan State and Louisville to advance to the Final Four.

Miami received a #2 seed in the East and will play Friday against #15-seed Pacific.

NC State was named a #8 seed in the East Region and will play Friday against #9-seed Temple.

Here's some quick trivia regarding UNC and this year's tournament:

--Villanova ranks 295th nationally in 3-point field goal defense (36.6%) and 292nd in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.79), both advantageous for the Tar Heels.

--The last time North Carolina played in Kansas City in the NCAA Tournament was the 1957 Final Four, which UNC won.

--North Carolina is 6-2 all-time as a No. 8 seed in NCAA Tournament play.

--The last two times North Carolina played Villanova in the NCAA Tournament was their 2005 Sweet 16 matchup and 2009 Final Four matchup. The Tar Heels won the NCAA Championship both of those years.

--North Carolina's a #8 seed matches UNC's worst seed ever. The last time the Tar Heels were a #8, they went to the 2000 Final Four.

Download the printable bracket here.

Posted Sunday, March 17, 2013 in Basketball,