A Tournament of North Carolina's Tournament Wins (Dean Smith Region)

With North Carolina not invited to participate in the 2023 NCAA tournament, I read someone on Twitter roast Tar Heel fans (like me) that we are just going to sit and watch old tournament games to fill the void.

Hmm.  What a great idea.

Watching old tournament games sure is fun and it can make you remember the good times while the bad times forced you to have nothing to do.  So instead of just watching old North Carolina hoops games, how about we create out own tournament of Heels' NCAA tournament wins to see which one is the best.

So below are the 32 best games, and I divided them up into four regions -- Jordan, McGuire, Williams and Smith regions. We will battle over the next three weeks to see who comes out as the best game in Carolina tournament history. The seedings have the six tournament champions getting the No. 1 seeds and the top No. 2 seeds. From there, just the best games no matter where they happened in the tournament. 

Here is the entire tournament revealed. In a few days, we will have our first round winners and our Sweet 16. Here ya go: 

JORDAN REGION
1 - UNC/Georgetown (1982) vs 8 - UNC/Notre Dame (1985)
4 - UNC/Oklahoma (1990) vs 5 - UNC/Cincinnati (1993)
3 - UNC/Ohio State (1946) vs 6 - UNC/Villanova (1982)
2 - UNC/Michigan State (1957) vs 7 - UNC/Ohio (2012)

1-UNC/Georgetown (1982) vs 4-UNC/Oklahoma (1990)
2-UNC/Michigan State (1957) vs 3-UNC/Ohio State (1946)

MCGUIRE REGION
1 - UNC/Kansas (1957) vs 8 - UNC/Baylor (2022)
4 - UNC/Kentucky (1995) vs 5 - UNC/Oregon (2017)
3 - UNC/Kentucky (2017) vs 6 - UNC/Temple (1991)
2 - UNC/Duke (2022) vs 7 - UNC/Oklahoma (2009)

1-UNC/Kansas (1957) vs 4-UNC/Kentucky (1995)
2-UNC/Duke (2022) vs 3-UNC/Kentucky (2017)

WILLIAMS REGION
1 - UNC/Illinois (2005) vs 8 - UNC/Purdue (1977)
4 - UNC/UNLV (1977) vs 5 - UNC/Stanford (2000)
3 - UNC/Davidson (1969) vs 6 - UNC/Notre Dame (1977)
2 - UNC/Gonzaga (2017) vs 7 - UNC/Loyola Marymount (1988)

1-UNC/Illinois (2005) vs 5-UNC/Stanford (2000)
2-UNC/Gonzaga (2017) vs 3-UNC/Davidson (1969)

SMITH REGION
1 - UNC/Michigan (1993) vs 8 - UNC/James Madison (1982)
4 - UNC/Virginia (1981) vs 5 - UNC/Tulsa (2000)
3 - UNC/Houston (1982) vs 6 - UNC/Villanova (2005)
2 - UNC/Michigan State (2009) vs 7 - UNC/Charlotte (1998)

On to the Dean E. Smith region.

The first game is a route. The 1993 national championship game between North Carolina and Michigan is legendary for a variety of reasons, but as a Heels fan this is one of the most important wins in program history. That beats UNC holding off James Madison's upset bit that would've ended that 1982 run.

Up next is the 1981 Final Four game between Ralph Sampson's Cavaliers and the Tar Heels against Joseph Forte's 28 points to get UNC into the Final Four in 2000. We're taking the 1981 game and Al Wood's 39 points avenging a regular season sweep from the Hoos.

It is a similar theme when UNC vs Houston happened in 1982. Sam Perkins was the man in that game and the Heels held off Clyde Drexler, Akeem Olajuwon and the Cougars in the Final Four. The 2005 Carolina-Nova game was the Tar Heels' biggest test during their 2005 title run, but ... dude ... I just said Akeem (as he was known then) and Drexler!  We're going with 1982.

Finally, there was the complete dismantling of Michigan State in Detroit for the 2009 national championship against one of the more interesting games I will ever remember. I'm from Charlotte and went to UNC-Charlotte and there was quite a buzz when the Tar Heels and 49ers faced off in the second round of the 1998 tournament. Charlotte wanted to beat their big brothers badly and took the Heels to overtime before losing by ten. Memorable, but that 2009 game was a clinic in domination of a title game and of a tournament.

So we have our Sweet 16.  Up next is whittling it down to the Elite 8.

A Tournament of North Carolina's Tournament Wins (Roy Williams Region)

With North Carolina not invited to participate in the 2023 NCAA tournament, I read someone on Twitter roast Tar Heel fans (like me) that we are just going to sit and watch old tournament games to fill the void.

Hmm.  What a great idea.

Watching old tournament games sure is fun and it can make you remember the good times while the bad times forced you to have nothing to do.  So instead of just watching old North Carolina hoops games, how about we create out own tournament of Heels' NCAA tournament wins to see which one is the best.

So below are the 32 best games, and I divided them up into four regions -- Jordan, McGuire, Williams and Smith regions. We will battle over the next three weeks to see who comes out as the best game in Carolina tournament history. The seedings have the six tournament champions getting the No. 1 seeds and the top No. 2 seeds. From there, just the best games no matter where they happened in the tournament. 

Here is the entire tournament revealed. In a few days, we will have our first round winners and our Sweet 16. Here ya go: 

JORDAN REGION
1 - UNC/Georgetown (1982) vs 8 - UNC/Notre Dame (1985)
4 - UNC/Oklahoma (1990) vs 5 - UNC/Cincinnati (1993)
3 - UNC/Ohio State (1946) vs 6 - UNC/Villanova (1982)
2 - UNC/Michigan State (1957) vs 7 - UNC/Ohio (2012)

1-UNC/Georgetown (1982) vs 4-UNC/Oklahoma (1990)
2-UNC/Michigan State (1957) vs 3-UNC/Ohio State (1946)

MCGUIRE REGION
1 - UNC/Kansas (1957) vs 8 - UNC/Baylor (2022)
4 - UNC/Kentucky (1995) vs 5 - UNC/Oregon (2017)
3 - UNC/Kentucky (2017) vs 6 - UNC/Temple (1991)
2 - UNC/Duke (2022) vs 7 - UNC/Oklahoma (2009)

1-UNC/Kansas (1957) vs 4-UNC/Kentucky (1995)
2-UNC/Duke (2022) vs 3-UNC/Kentucky (2017)

WILLIAMS REGION
1 - UNC/Illinois (2005) vs 8 - UNC/Purdue (1977)
4 - UNC/UNLV (1977) vs 5 - UNC/Stanford (2000)
3 - UNC/Davidson (1969) vs 6 - UNC/Notre Dame (1977)
2 - UNC/Gonzaga (2017) vs 7 - UNC/Loyola Marymount (1988)

SMITH REGION
1 - UNC/Michigan (1993) vs 8 - UNC/James Madison (1982)
4 - UNC/Virginia (1981) vs 5 - UNC/Tulsa (2000)
3 - UNC/Houston (1982) vs 6 - UNC/Villanova (2005)
2 - UNC/Michigan State (2009) vs 7 - UNC/Charlotte (1998)

On to the Williams region.

This may be the more difficult region to get through as none of these games are as truly iconic as some of the others we have dealt with. In the first showdown, we have Roy Williams' first national championship against a 2nd round game against Purdue in 1977. I'm taking the title. 

The second game is our first upset ... and it really was an upset. The 2000 Tar Heels were very talented, albeit flawed and not having a great regular season. But they upset No. 1 seed Stanford in the second round and ended up in the Final Four. Mike O'Koren was outstanding for the 1977 Heels that beat UNLV in the Final Four by a single point. I'm going to go with the upset in 2000. 

The third game features yet another game from 1977 -- a Sweet 16 win over Notre Dame on St. Patrick's Day. That falls short to the 1969 win over Davidson. Charlie Scott's jumper beat Davidson and sent the Heels to their third straight Final Four. 

Finally, two games who couldn't be more opposite. You have the UNC-Gonzaga title fight that was filled with big, bruising bodies banging into each other all night and making for a foul prone and clunky flowed title tilt. The 1988 win over Loyola Marymount wasn't a thrilling game (Heels won by 26 points) as much as it was about Carolina scoring 123 points against the high-paced Lions during their Hank Gathers/Bo Kimble heyday. Nice to see Ranzino Smith pour 27 points in that game, while JR Reid and Jeff Lebo each had 19. UNC shot 79% from the field that day!!! I'm going with the title game that saw the Heels rally late and Kennedy Meeks make the most memorable block in Carolina history. 

So there you have it. Next up with the Dean E. Smith Region and we will then have our own Sweet 16 set!

As a Carolina Fan, Who Should I Root For In The Sweet 16?

It was an epically disappointing season for the 2022-2023 North Carolina Tar Heels, so watching the 2023 NCAA Tournament hasn't had the edge that it did last year when the Heels reached the national title game. Still, I'm an NCAA tournament junkie and won't let my team's failures to impact watching the greatest event in sports.

With Duke, Virginia and NC State gone, I don't have to worry about our rivals doing any damage. Kentucky is gone too, so that's nice.  So with the field pretty much outside of my true hatred, who should I be rooting for? I'll probably just root for the teams in the colorful uniforms because I just want to see a ton more upsets. That won't be the case, however, so I need to settle on someone to pin my hopes on. 

16 - MIAMI HURRICANES:  Let me say this once and for all: I don't subscribe to the "I jUsT wAnT sOmEoNe FrOm My CoNfErEnCe tO WiN" crap. I spend all season hating the other 14 ACC schools that I'm not going to just start rooting for them because they also wear an ACC patch. Miami is more of a rival to North Carolina in football, but isn't really like that in hoops. Still, I can't pull for a team I've been rooting against all year.

15 - CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS: I won't forget Kendall Marshall's injury in 2012 against Creighton. Thanks for beating State, but I don't ride with you.

14 - UCLA BRUINS: If UCLA is still considered a blue blood, then you automatically root against them.

13 - TEXAS LONGHORNS: As great as North Carolina's history is, we've stunk against Texas. Carolina is just 1-9 against the Horns since 1995. So, no. And Kevin Durant should've been a Tar Heel!!!

12 - UCONN HUSKIES: Let's be honest. UConn has won four national championships since 1999 and the next title puts them just one title behind UNC. We don't want that. 

11 - TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS: In some parts of North Carolina, there is a healthy battle between UNC and Tennessee. But Rick Barnes is their head coach and he notoriously got into it with Dean Smith back in the day when Barnes was at Clemson. I do have family who are big Vols fans, so they kinda sit in the middle for me. 

10 - ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE: Look, Bama is really, really good, but no one is really rooting for them after all their off the court stuff has surfaced. Plus you don't want to see an SEC win, do you?

9 - ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS: UNC is 7-3 against the Razorbacks all-time ... but that loss to them in the 1995 Final Four still stings. 

8 - HOUSTON COUGARS: I don't love nor hate them. I do love Marcus Sasser. Winning the national title would be a bit of a middle finger to the power leagues ... which Houston will join in July. 

7 - MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS: Tom Izzo is buddies with Roy Williams and, for the most part, Carolina has fared well against the Spartans in their head-to-head matchups (UNC has won 6 of the last 7). Still, there is that thing where you don't want the Big Ten to succeed, so I can't really root for Michigan State.

6 - GONZAGA BULLDOGS: We beat the Zags for the 2017 championship, and like Izzo, Roy Williams is good friends with Mark Few. Other than them beating us down at Spokane in the woeful 2019-2020 season, there's no real reason to hate Gonzaga. 

5 - SAN DIEGO STATE: I mean, what does it hurt? If they lose, it isn't like I was too invested in them.

4 - XAVIER: I live in the Cincinnati area now, and Xavier has been one of the more interesting mid-major to major success stories over the last couple of decades. Nobody really hates Xavier, though Sean Miller brings some ick to the table. 

3 - KANSAS STATE WILDCATS: Hey, Bill Guthridge played at Kansas State and was an assistant coach there until Dean Smith added him to Carolina's staff in 1967. 

2 - FLORIDA ATLANTIC OWLS: Other than that cringe-worthy dunk attempt at the end of their win against Farleigh Dickinson, what's the reason to hate on them.

1 - PRINCETON TIGERS: The biggest Cinderella but not a reasonable pick to win the national championship. Still, these Tigers are worth pulling for. 

So, other than the two epic underdogs, I guess I'm pulling for Kansas State to win the whole thing. Yeah, a Carolina fan rooting for the Kansas. State. Wildcats. Three names I normally wouldn't ever root for come together for my proxy team in 2023.

Sportz' NCAA Tournament Recap - Second Round, Day 2

Just a quick recap of what I saw in my Sportz Room -- filled with TVs that I can watch all games going on at the same time.

GAME OF THE DAY: Gonzaga vs TCU. Just a fun game played at such a high level. Drew Timme does what he does and came up huge in a big game. The Florida Atlantic-FDU game was also a blast, but this was an outstanding game that went back and forth.

UPSET OF THE DAY: Michigan State vs Marquette.  Really this is the only game that really feels like it qualifies as an upset, as Marquette was a No. 2 seed losing to a No. 7. Still, saying Tom Izzo and Michigan State are big underdogs in the second round feels wrong.

CONFERENCE OF THE DAY: BIG EAST. Well, champion Marquette got bounced rather emphatically by Michigan State, but the rest of the Big East did pretty well. Creighton upset Baylor, UConn blasted Saint Mary's and Xavier spanked Pittsburgh. The Big East matches the SEC with three teams in the Sweet 16.

CONFERENCE WITH A BAD DAY: Big Ten. Another really bad day for the Big Ten. Michigan State got their win, but Indiana was wiped out by Miami and leaves the conference with just one team in the Sweet 16. Yet again, the Big Ten got a ton of bids (8 this year) yet has underwhelmed in the tournament. Unless the Spartans go on an epic run, the Big Ten's championship-less streak will continue.

DUD OF THE DAY: Miami vs Indiana. This was a game of runs. Miami blew out to a huge first half leave ... then Indiana raced back and had a lead early in the second half. From there, Miami turned it on and ran away with the game.

DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: Xavier vs Pittsburgh. After having an ehhhh game in their win over Kennesaw State, Xavier showed everyone why they have a real shot at reaching the Final Four. When they are hitting their threes, they are nearly impossible to beat. That offense was absolutely flowing against Pitt. 

UNDERLYING STORYLINE OF THE DAY: The new blood (11 conferences left). There will be no Kansas, no Duke, no North Carolina and no Kentucky in this Sweet 16. No Villanova either. Last year's Final Four saw Kansas, North Carolina, Duke and Villanova ... so maybe we get some new blood this time around. Before Kansas won last year, we were treated to Baylor and Virginia winning national championships against Gonzaga and Texas Tech, respectively. We will have 12 of our Sweet 16 having never won a championship. Of the four who have won, UConn won their last title in 2014; Michigan State's last title was in 2000; UCLA won its last title in 1995; Arkansas won their last one in 1994.  There are 11 conferences represented in the Sweet 16!!!

Sportz' NCAA Tournament Recap - Second Round, Day 1

Just a quick recap of what I saw in my Sportz Room -- filled with TVs that I can watch all games going on at the same time.

GAME OF THE DAY: Arkansas vs Kansas. There was this feeling that one of the three No. 1 seeds playing today would join Purdue and be ousted from the dance. Kansas, without Bill Self once again, had to fight off Arkansas and their two likely lottery picks. What makes this the game of the day wasn't that the defending champs went down, but because it was actually a great game. Back and forth with huge shots, huge defensive plays and a buzz in the arena .

UPSET OF THE DAY: Princeton vs Missouri.  Here we go again! Princeton becomes the latest No. 15 seed to reach the Sweet 16. The Tigers upset the Tigers. After seeing St. Peter's and Oral Roberts do it recently, Princeton gets to the regional semifinals for the first time since 1967.

CONFERENCE OF THE DAY: SEC. The SEC has already placed three teams in the Sweet 16. Alabama did what they do, Arkansas knocked off Kansas, and Tennessee out-muscled Duke. With Kentucky playing today, there's a chance the league represents a quarter of the field next week. The SEC did see Missouri get rolled by Princeton and Auburn blow a big lead over Houston, but the results are there.

CONFERENCE WITH A BAD DAY: Big Ten. After watching regular season and tournament champion Purdue go down on Friday, the Big Ten had another bad day. Maryland's loss to Alabama wasn't surprising, nor was Northwestern's loss to UCLA or Penn State's loss to Texas. Still, three Big Ten teams went down and Michigan State and Indiana are all that is left.

DUD OF THE DAY: San Diego State vs Furman. These are bound to happen. Furman just couldn't hang with San Diego State, who really showed why they are a force to reckon with in a very interesting South Region.

DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: Alabama vs Maryland. While Purdue and Kansas are gone and Houston needed a comeback to dispose of Auburn, Alabama dominated Maryland and showed why they are the best team in the tournament. They just ran past the Terps and watch as the destruction of brackets open up their path to their first Final Four. 

UNDERLYING STORYLINE OF THE DAY: Alabama and Houston on a collision course. I mentioned Alabama's domination of Maryland and touched on Houston's comeback on Auburn ... but Houston was certainly sensational over the second half of their win over the Tigers. Down 10 at half, the Cougars used terrifying defense and explosive offense to outscore Auburn 50-23 in the second half. With so much going on around the bracket, it seems as if we could be headed for an Alabama-Houston title game. Sure, there are 22 other schools who still think they can cut down the nets in Houston, the cream may be rising to the top. 

Sportz' NCAA Tournament Recap - First Round, Day 2

Just a quick recap of what I saw in my Sportz Room -- filled with TVs that I can watch all games going on at the same time.

GAME OF THE DAY: TCU vs Iowa State. There were so many good games today, but I'm going to take the one that had the game winning shot at the end. Iowa State was dominating TCU most of the day but the Horned Frogs kept chipping away at the lead and eventually made a runner to take the lead with two seconds left. It barely clips the FAU-Memphis game. And this other one.

UPSET OF THE DAY: Farleigh Dickinson vs Purdue.  For the second time ever, a No. 16 seed beats a No. 1 seed. Wow! There is so much about this game that is amazing. FDU was the biggest underdog to win a tournament game (-23.5). They were a team that had to win a First Four game. They are only in the tournament due to Merrimack's ineligibility in the NEC. But what I like the most is that they went punch for punch with Purdue. When UMBC beat Virginia in 2018, they got hot and just rolled. This was more of a thing were FDU had to make plays to win and they did it.

CONFERENCE OF THE DAY: Big East. Reminds us of the old days. Marquette won easily, Xaver pulled out their fight with Kennesaw State, UConn blew out Rick Pitino's Iona Gaels and Creighton blew by NC State. Providence fell, but the Big East really performed well.

CONFERENCE WITH A BAD DAY: Pac-12. The Pac-12 are down to just one team in the second round. USC got rolled by Michigan State and Arizona State blew a big lead against TCU. Add in Arizona's upset loss yesterday and the Pac-12 had yet again let us down. UCLA is the lone solider.

DUD OF THE DAY: UConn v Iona. There was a feeling that Rick Pitino's squad would have a little something for UConn in Albany. They did for a half, but then the Huskies ran away with it in the second half.

DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: Pitt vs Iowa State. Man, the Panthers put the clamps down on Iowa State -- they didn't reach 40 points until garbage time in the final minute. Pitt has become the latest First Four winner to advance to the second round. Oh, and FDU. 

UNDERLYING STORYLINE OF THE DAY: Can't trust Purdue. Yesterday I mentioned how Arizona and Virginia failed us yet again come tournament time. But Purdue is a much bigger offender. This year they lose the No. 16 Farleigh Dickinson. Last year they lost to No. 15 seed St. Peter's. The year before that they lose to No. 13 seed North Texas. What is going on with Purdue? This isn't normal. 

We've Reached the End Of The NCAA Tournament's Pushover Games

For most of my life (certainly my life after I turned 10 years old) there was pretty much an inevitability that the No. 1 team would bulldoze the No. 16 team in the first round. Sure, there were some scares ... and those scares were treated like upsets ... but for the most part it was just a formality.

That's gone.

In 2018, UMBC became the first No. 16 team to topple a No. 1 seed when they spanked Virginia in Charlotte. The Retrievers didn't just upset the Cavs -- they stomped them. Virginia would go on to win the national championship in 2019 and UMBC went on to become the posterboy of "look, it really can happen".

Today, Farleigh Dickenson beat No. 1 seed Purdue, 63-58, in what to me is an even bigger shocker. FDU went blow for blow with Purdue. Punch for punch. UMBC got hot in that Virginia game and ran away -- FDU were in a fight and made huge shots, huge defensive plays and huge coaching decisions that won this game. Purdue wasn't just off -- FDU put them there. FDU is the smallest team in the tournament and just took out the team with the 7'4 player of the year, Zach Edey. It wasn't as if Edey was having a bad game. FDU limited him to just one shot attempt in the final 12 minutes of that game. They won.

So what hadn't happened in the first 33 years of this tournament has now happened twice in the last five tournaments. 

It isn't just UMBC and FDU. Yesterday No. 16 Northern Kentucky took No. 1 Houston to the brink before losing. Last night, No. 15 Princeton beat No. 2 Arizona ... marking the third straight season a No. 15 has beaten a No. 2. Two years ago, Oral Roberts was a 15th seed that went to the Sweet 16. Last year, St. Peter's became the first No. 15 seed to reach the Elite 8. That St. Peter's team also beat Purdue during their run.

It is over. The days of just showing up to the tournament -- no matter who you are -- and thinking you have one win in the bag is over. 

It really is amazing. It used to be upsets were because these smaller teams would bomb threes to possibly beat bigger programs with bigger players. But now the bigger programs also bomb threes and are used to playing against teams that bomb threes. Yet these upsets are bigger and happening more frequently.

That isn't to say we won't still have blowouts. It is basketball and a tournament and teams have great games and off days. But we can't just assume anything anymore. The Big Ten and Pac-12 champions went 0-2 in the NCAA tournament. The NEC champions are 2-0.

A Tournament of North Carolina's Tournament Wins (McGuire Region)

With North Carolina not invited to participate in the 2023 NCAA tournament, I read someone on Twitter roast Tar Heel fans (like me) that we are just going to sit and watch old tournament games to fill the void.

Hmm.  What a great idea.

Watching old tournament games sure is fun and it can make you remember the good times while the bad times forced you to have nothing to do.  So instead of just watching old North Carolina hoops games, how about we create out own tournament of Heels' NCAA tournament wins to see which one is the best.

So below are the 32 best games, and I divided them up into four regions -- Jordan, McGuire, Williams and Smith regions. We will battle over the next three weeks to see who comes out as the best game in Carolina tournament history. The seedings have the six tournament champions getting the No. 1 seeds and the top No. 2 seeds. From there, just the best games no matter where they happened in the tournament. 

Here is the entire tournament revealed. In a few days, we will have our first round winners and our Sweet 16. Here ya go: 

JORDAN REGION
1 - UNC/Georgetown (1982) vs 8 - UNC/Notre Dame (1985)
4 - UNC/Oklahoma (1990) vs 5 - UNC/Cincinnati (1993)
3 - UNC/Ohio State (1946) vs 6 - UNC/Villanova (1982)
2 - UNC/Michigan State (1957) vs 7 - UNC/Ohio (2012)

1-UNC/Georgetown (1982) vs 4-UNC/Oklahoma (1990)
2-UNC/Michigan State (1957) vs 3-UNC/Ohio State (1946)

MCGUIRE REGION
1 - UNC/Kansas (1957) vs 8 - UNC/Baylor (2022)
4 - UNC/Kentucky (1995) vs 5 - UNC/Oregon (2017)
3 - UNC/Kentucky (2017) vs 6 - UNC/Temple (1991)
2 - UNC/Duke (2022) vs 7 - UNC/Oklahoma (2009)

WILLIAMS REGION
1 - UNC/Illinois (2005) vs 8 - UNC/Purdue (1977)
4 - UNC/UNLV (1977) vs 5 - UNC/Stanford (2000)
3 - UNC/Davidson (1969) vs 6 - UNC/Notre Dame (1977)
2 - UNC/Gonzaga (2017) vs 7 - UNC/Loyola Marymount (1988)

SMITH REGION
1 - UNC/Michigan (1993) vs 8 - UNC/James Madison (1982)
4 - UNC/Virginia (1981) vs 5 - UNC/Tulsa (2000)
3 - UNC/Houston (1982) vs 6 - UNC/Villanova (2005)
2 - UNC/Michigan State (2009) vs 7 - UNC/Charlotte (1998)

On to the McGuire region. 

UNC's win over Kansas in 1957 sealed a perfect season, it was against one of the true greats of basketball (Wilt Chamberlain and Phog Allen), happened in triple overtime a day after the Heels went triple overtime to beat Michigan State. No matter who it was matched up against is going to lose this one, and UNC's come from ahead win over Baylor in 2022 is no match for what Frank McGuire's New York boys did. 

Here is a good one. UNC's win over Oregon was sandwiched between the Luke Maye shot to beat Kentucky and the national championship win over Gonzaga. But UNC was trailing big to Oregon and fought hard to come back to finally win it (thanks to timely offensive rebounds). Speaking of hard fought games, North Carolina's win over Kentucky in the 1995 regional final was heated. Rasheed Wallace got into a scuffle and the threw down a thunderous dunk late to seal one of Dean Smith's best non-title wins. 1995 wins this one.

Another UNC-Kentucky title takes the win as the 2017 is best known for Luke Maye's shot. Still, that UNC-Temple battle in 1991 was epic as Mark Macon's 31 points weren't enough (Macon's three point attempt to send the game into overtime missed the mark) to end the Heels' Final Four run. Current UNC head coach scored 19 points in that game, tying Rick Fox for the team high.

Finally is UNC-Duke in 2022 against ... well, it doesn't matter. UNC-Oklahoma in 2009 was fun (Blake Griffin hit his head on the backboard at one point) but wasn't really all that memorable. UNC's win over Duke in the Final Four easily takes this one. 

Up next is the Roy Williams region. 

Sportz' NCAA Tournament Recap - First Round, Day 1

Just a quick recap of what I saw in my Sportz Room -- filled with TVs that I can watch all games going on at the same time.

GAME OF THE DAY: Furman vs Virginia. I cannot believe the ending for this one. Virginia just had to not turn the ball over, make their free throws and advance to the next round. Yet super senior Kihei Clark ... who played on UVa's national championship team ... threw the most improbably bad pass that was picked off by Furman, passed ahead for the game winning three. Unreal.

UPSET OF THE DAY: Princeton vs Arizona.  For the third straight season, a No. 15 seed ousts a No. 2 in the first round. So Arizona joins Kentucky last year and Ohio State the year before on this list. They also became the first school to be a No. 2 to lose to a No. 15 twice. Remember Steve Nash and Santa Clara back in 1993?

CONFERENCE OF THE DAY: SEC. Yeah, Texas A&M got run out of the gym, but Alabama looked the part of the top overall seed, Arkansas and Auburn won 8-9 games, Missouri got a big win over Utah State, and Tennessee held off Louisiana.

CONFERENCE WITH A BAD DAY: Big Ten. Iowa lost to Auburn and Illinois lost to Arkansas in 8-9 games. Northwestern, Penn State and Maryland won. Not the absolute worst day, but they fit for the moment.

DUD OF THE DAY: Duke vs Oral Roberts. Duke has been scalding hot of late, but Oral Roberts had the look of a real Cinderella this year. It wasn't ever really in doubt.

DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: Kansas vs Howard Top seeds are supposed to drop 16 seeds like this. With some injury issues and no Bill Self, this was a much needed blowout for the defending champs. 

UNDERLYING STORYLINE OF THE DAY: Can't trust Arizona or Virginia. Arizona has failed us yet again. They last won a national championship in 1997 and haven't been to a Final Four in 20 years but we always tend to make them the sleeper national championship pick when they enter the tournament on a bit of a run. You can also say that about Virginia, who loses yet again in the first round. . 

A Tournament of North Carolina's Tournament Wins (Jordan Region)

With North Carolina not invited to participate in the 2023 NCAA tournament, I read someone on Twitter roast Tar Heel fans (like me) that we are just going to sit and watch old tournament games to fill the void.

Hmm.  What a great idea.

Watching old tournament games sure is fun and it can make you remember the good times while the bad times forced you to have nothing to do.  So instead of just watching old North Carolina hoops games, how about we create out own tournament of Heels' NCAA tournament wins to see which one is the best.

So below are the 32 best games, and I divided them up into four regions -- Jordan, McGuire, Williams and Smith regions. We will battle over the next three weeks to see who comes out as the best game in Carolina tournament history. The seedings have the six tournament champions getting the No. 1 seeds and the top No. 2 seeds. From there, just the best games no matter where they happened in the tournament. 

Here is the entire tournament revealed. In a few days, we will have our first round winners and our Sweet 16. Here ya go: 

JORDAN REGION
1 - UNC/Georgetown (1982) vs 8 - UNC/Notre Dame (1985)
4 - UNC/Oklahoma (1990) vs 5 - UNC/Cincinnati (1993)
3 - UNC/Ohio State (1946) vs 6 - UNC/Villanova (1982)
2 - UNC/Michigan State (1957) vs 7 - UNC/Ohio (2012)

MCGUIRE REGION
1 - UNC/Kansas (1957) vs 8 - UNC/Baylor (2022)
4 - UNC/Kentucky (1995) vs 5 - UNC/Oregon (2017)
3 - UNC/Kentucky (2017) vs 6 - UNC/Temple (1991)
2 - UNC/Duke (2022) vs 7 - UNC/Oklahoma (2009)

WILLIAMS REGION
1 - UNC/Illinois (2005) vs 8 - UNC/Purdue (1977)
4 - UNC/UNLV (1977) vs 5 - UNC/Stanford (2000)
3 - UNC/Davidson (1969) vs 6 - UNC/Notre Dame (1977)
2 - UNC/Gonzaga (2017) vs 7 - UNC/Loyola Marymount (1988)

SMITH REGION
1 - UNC/Michigan (1993) vs 8 - UNC/James Madison (1982)
4 - UNC/Virginia (1981) vs 5 - UNC/Tulsa (2000)
3 - UNC/Houston (1982) vs 6 - UNC/Villanova (2005)
2 - UNC/Michigan State (2009) vs 7 - UNC/Charlotte (1998)

So let's do the Jordan Region. Of course the top overall seed is North Carolina's win over Georgetown in the 1982 national championship game. The game is simply iconic and probably cruises to the Final Four. The 1985 game against Notre Dame was a barn burner with Kenny Smith going at it with the Irish's David Rivers (Brad Daugherty was huge with 18 points).

The 1990 team that upset Oklahoma is one of the great moments in Carolina history. Rick Fox's shot to beat the top seeded Sooners is iconic. Their opponent is an underappreciated UNC-Cincinnati game in the regional final (Brian Reese's missed dunk just lives in my memory together ... but it worked out). 

Most people won't know about UNC's 1946 win over Ohio State in the East regional final, but the game went into overtime before John Dillon and Jim Jordan led the Heels to their first Final Four. In another East region final, UNC had such a great team effort to eliminate Ed Pinkney and the Villanova Wildcats. Michael Jordan led the way with 15 points. 

Finally is likely a mismatch. There is UNC/Ohio in 2012 which is best known as the Stillman White game. White, a freshman walk-on, had to start in Carolina's Sweet 16 game due to Kendall Marshall's wrist injury suffered against Creighton in the previous round. They take on Carolina's Final Four win over Michigan State in 1957. That triple overtime game would be placed among the most revered wins but gets overshadowed by their win over Kansas the very next day ... and the fact we don't have vivid YouTube videos of it.  1957 wins.

The first round Jordan Region winners:
1 - UNC/Georgetown (1982)
4 - UNC/Oklahoma (1990)

2 - UNC/Michigan State (1957)
3 - UNC/Ohio State (1946)

Stay tuned and we will run down the McGuire Region next. 

Sportz Assassin's West Region Preview

TEAM TO BEAT: Kansas. The Jayhawks are the defending champs and many feel they are truly the best team in the nation. If not for their loss (and a big loss at that) in the Big 12 title game, they'd be the overall No. 1 seed. 

TEAM THAT WILL WIN THE REGION: Gonzaga. I want to say Kansas and I believe they will get to the Final Four. However, there are so many trends that say Kansas won't do that, so I'm going elsewhere. UCLA has injury isssues so I'm going with a very, very talented Gonzaga that is laying in the weeds. 

TEAM TO WATCH FOR (LESS THAN A NO. 3 SEED): TCU. The Horned Frogs can score the ball and they have a 23-point win at Kansas on their resume.  I'm well aware that they could face my "team that will win the region" in the second round, but TCU is that kind of team that can connect on a big swing. 

YOUR CINDERELLA: VCU. There are a lot of tantalizing options in the West, but VCU is my choice. They love the press and pressure the ballhandlers and will go against a Saint Mary's team that wants to play slow. That's an interesting game. The can use the same formula to get by UConn the next round.   

WORST SEEDING ERROR: VCU. I wouldn't call this an error as much as an unfortunate issue that comes with how the tournament is structured. Since VCU is an automatic qualifier, they cannot be placed in the First Four ... which took one of the 11 seeds from them. Because of that, the Rams were knocked down to a 12 seed.     

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: UCLA. The Bruins start in Sacramento and then on to Las Vegas. No doubt they've got a great home court advantage. 

MUST WATCH GAME: Saint Mary's vs VCU. Like I mentioned earlier, this VCU-Saint Mary's game should be so interesting to break down.  

MUST WATCH (POTENTIAL) SECOND ROUND GAME: Kansas vs Arkansas.  Arkansas has two lottery picks on its team and while the Razorbacks are wildly inconsistent, they also have the talent to take down a No. 1 seed. This should be a great one if it happens. 

Sportz Assassin's Midwest Region Preview

TEAM TO BEAT: Houston. Houston has looked like the best team in the nation at times. They're a tough defensive unit and if Marcus Sasser is healthy then this team certainly can win the entire thing. 

TEAM THAT WILL WIN THE REGION: Houston. Sure, they've spent the bulk of the last two months playing AAC competition, but they have a fairly open path to the Final Four where ... well, I will get to that later. 

TEAM TO WATCH FOR (LESS THAN A NO. 3 SEED): Texas A&M. This team can shoot the basketball, which is typically a recipe for creating an upset. If they can dispose of Penn State, they'll get that old rivalry game against Texas. From there, is there anyone in the bottom of the Midwest bracket that scares them? No. 

YOUR CINDERELLA: Drake. This team is filled with seniors, with the lone non-senior at the top of their rotation is the coach's son. Tucker DeVries is that guy that sparks Cinderella runs and the Missouri Valley Conference has had a history of doing well in the NCAA tournament.   

WORST SEEDING ERROR: Texas A&M. How does a team that finished second in the SEC regular season and runner-up in the SEC tournament (both to top overall seed Alabama) get a No. 7 seed? Sure, their non-conference schedule was bleh, but look what you've done in one of the top conferences in the nation.     

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Auburn. In the region, it will be Auburn, and it is a mistake by the Selection Committee. Auburn spends the first weekend in Birmingham, which is a two hour drive from campus. The fact that they are a No. 9 seed and playing essentially a home game against No. 8 seed Iowa is wrong. If the Tigers win, they'll play at home against Houston, the top seed.  That's pretty egregious. If Houston advances to the Final Four, they'll get to play at home in Houston, so getting out of this region would be a huge advantage for the Cougars. 

MUST WATCH GAME: Iowa vs Auburn. Iowa's offense vs Auburn's defense in front of what should be a partisan crowd in Birmingham. And in typical 8-9 fashion, both teams are so up and down that you have no idea what to expect before or during the game.  

MUST WATCH (POTENTIAL) SECOND ROUND GAME: Texas vs Texas A&M.  Two longtime rivals who had an acrimonious split when Texas A&M left Texas behind for the SEC. In two years, Texas will also join the SEC and will steal the Aggies thunder. These two met just twice since 2012 and both were at neutral sites, just like Des Moines will be. 

Sportz Assassin's East Region Preview

TEAM TO BEAT: Purdue. Zach Edey. That 7'4 form of length in the paint that is so difficult to defend and nearly impossible to get around. A guy like that uplifts his teammates and allows them to take opportunities others aren't afforded. Edey was asked to take on more this season, and here is the time to shine. 

TEAM THAT WILL WIN THE REGION: Purdue. They've been right there over the last few years and I think Matt Painter finally gets it done. 

TEAM TO WATCH FOR (LESS THAN A NO. 3 SEED): Duke. The Blue Devils aren't their typical dominating selves heading in the NCAA tournament but they are certainly playing at their best. They have such a young team that has finally found itself ... as has their first year head coach, Jon Scheyer. 

YOUR CINDERELLA: Oral Roberts. Having said that, the last two times Duke wasn't a top four seed, they lost in the first round. And their first round opponent, Oral Roberts, is as dangerous a 12th seed as you will see. Max Abmas and Connor Vanover are dangerous players.  If ORU has made a Sweet 16 run two years ago and could do it once again.   

WORST SEEDING ERROR: Duke. They've really come on of late and dominated the ACC tournament. I think they're better than a No. 5 seed.     

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Michigan State. Really no one has that great of advantage, but Columbus will a relatively easy trip for Purdue, Marquette and Michigan State. Ah, but Michigan State should have quite the crowd in Ohio's capital if they face Marquette in the second round. 

MUST WATCH GAME: Duke vs Oral Roberts. There are a lot of great first round matchups in the East, but this Duke-Oral Roberts game is just so intriguing. We all know how dangerous ORU can be and Duke is equally playing its best basketball right now but also isn't the powerful entry it usually is. Both teams could actually go far in this tournament.  

MUST WATCH (POTENTIAL) SECOND ROUND GAME: Purdue vs Memphis.  Look, Memphis just beat another No. 1 team this past Sunday, Houston. This is Penny Hardaway and he's not going to have his team scared of anyone. Purdue doesn't have that flex like the other No. 1 seeds but they do have the best player in college basketball in Edey. We all look for a top seed to miss the second weekend and this could be the game that makes that happen.