Written by MICHAEL KOH
As it turns out, UNC women’s basketball fans will get at least one more look at the Tar Heels on their home floor.
Carolina was revealed as a top 16 seed and a host site of the NCAA Tournament Saturday, then found out its first-round opponent Sunday during the selection show. The Tar Heels will face No. 13 Western Illinois in the first round, with the winner facing either No. 5 Maryland or No. 12 Murray State in the next round.
Courtney Banghart’s team may not have had flashy advanced metrics, but the committee clearly valued the Tar Heels’ recent performances. UNC has won 13 of its last 15 games, including wins over tournament teams such as NC State, Virginia and Duke. Banghart met with the media Monday morning and was rightfully proud of her team getting into this position for a second straight year despite losing more than 70 percent of its production from a year ago.
That brings us to this weekend, where Carolina will have to work hard if it wants to advance to the Sweet 16. Western Illinois is 26-5, having won both the regular-season and tournament titles in the Ohio Valley Conference. Star Mia Nicastro is the fourth-leading scorer in the nation at 24.2 points per game, and the Leathernecks also rank 12th in the country in free throw percentage.
Maryland will likely be fired up for a potential showdown with UNC in the round of 32. The Terps felt they should have been one of 16 host sites and will want to prove it on the court. And of course, the history between the two old ACC rivals is rich. It was Maryland which denied maybe the best UNC team ever a shot at a second national title in 2006, beating the Tar Heels 81-70 in the national semifinals in Boston. Carolina ended that year with 33 wins and two losses, both to the eventual national champion Terps.
But that’s not to discount Murray State, which ran roughshod over the Missouri Valley Conference and enters the tournament with a 31-3 record. The Racers have won 15 consecutive games and are 17-3 away from home. It should be a more competitive pair of first round games than last year, when both No. 3 UNC and No. 6 West Virginia won big on their way to the round of 32.
For those reasons, local basketball lovers should find plenty of entertainment value at Carmichael Arena. And as Banghart said, her team has done more than enough to earn vocal fan support this weekend.
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Featured image via Associated Press/Ben McKeown
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