North Carolina earned a No. 8 seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament and will face No. 9 seed Wisconsin on Friday. The game time has not yet been released as of 9 p.m. on Sunday night.
If UNC defeats the Badgers, the Tar Heels will face the winner of No. 1 seed Baylor and No. 16 seed Hartford on Sunday.
“We are ecstatic to be playing in the NCAA Tournament,” UNC head coach Roy Williams said in a statement released on Saturday evening. “There were a couple of times during the season when we were wondering whether or not we would make the field, but our team kept getting a little bit better and better. So I’m just ecstatic for these kids, who have endured so much due to Covid and have an opportunity to continue their season.”
North Carolina is 18-10 (10-6 in the ACC) and have won four of their last six games including two games in the ACC Tournament.
Roy Williams is 29-0 all-time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, including a 15-0 record at UNC.
“This will be an unusual tournament to say the least, but particularly for our coaches, because we have so many young players who will be playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time,'” Williams added. “Wisconsin will be a big-time challenge, but we played our way into our seed and we will have to play very well to advance. But we are looking forward to having that opportunity.”
UNC is making its 51st NCAA Tournament appearance, which is second only to Kentucky’s 58 appearances. The Tar Heels have advanced to the Final Four 20 times and have won six NCAA national championships, most recently in 2017. Their 72.8 winning percentage (126-47) in the NCAA Tournament ranks second all-time (Duke, 75%).
>>>Full NCAA Tournament Bracket Revealed<<<
The entire NCAA Tournament will take place in Indiana, with the majority of the 67 games being played in Indianapolis. UNC is 0-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament games played in Indianapolis.
The NCAA has also switched up its standard tournament schedule. The revised schedule is listed below:
• First Four — 4 p.m. start on Thursday, March 18
• First round — 12 p.m. start on Friday, March 19, and Saturday, March 20
• Second round — 12 p.m. start on Sunday, March 21, and Monday, March 22
• Sweet 16 — 2 p.m. start on Saturday, March 27, and 1 p.m. start on Sunday, March 28
• Elite Eight — 7 p.m. start on Monday, March 29, and 6 p.m. start on Tuesday, March 30
• Final Four — 5 p.m. start on Saturday, April 3
• NCAA championship game — 9 p.m. Monday, April 5
>>>Printable NCAA Bracket<<<
