NEW ORLEANS — And then there were two. After a spectacular victory over Duke, No. 8 Carolina will match up against No. 1 Kansas University Jayhawks.
Saturday night's historical game brought so many emotions to UNC and Duke fans as many were at the edge of their seats, hoping their team would push through. However, Carolina did not let up as they were determined to give Coach K his final farewell.
Are you ready for the next battle of the blood showdown?
Tip-off is at 9:20 p.m. Monday. The game is on Turner Broadcasting System – you know it as TBS.
QUICK FACTS TO KNOW
- Carolina is playing in the national championship game for the 12th time. UNC has played in the finals in 1946, 1957, 1968, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, 2016, 2017 and 2022.
- Carolins is playing in the championship game for the third time in six seasons
- UNC is 6-5 in NCAA title games, including 2-0 in the Superdome
- Carolina and Kansas are playing in the Final Four for the fifth time, two more than any other matchup in Final Four history (Duke-Kansas, UCLA-Louisville and UNC-Michigan State have all played three times in the Final Four).
- UNC defeated KU in the 1957 championship game and the 1993 semifinals; the Jayhawks beat UNC in the semifinals in 1991 and 2008.
- With a win, Hubert Davis would become the first individual to lead his team to a national championship in his first full season as a head coach (Michigan’s Steve Fisher was the head coach for the six NCAA Tournament games in 1989).
- Davis, the winner of the John McLendon Award as the 2021-22 National Coach of the Year, is the fifth individual to lead his team to the national championship game in his first season as a college head coach (Dick Harp of Kansas in 1957, Indiana State’s Bill Hodges in 1979, UCLA’s Larry Brown in 1980, Fisher and Davis).
- Carolina is 2-1 all-time on April 4, winning the 2005 NCAA title vs. Illinois, beating Villanova in the 2009 semifinal and losing to Villanova in the 2016 championship game
This marks UNC’s 52nd appearance in the NCAA Tournament. It also marks their 21st appearance in the Final Four the most in NCAA history. The Tar Heels are 130-48 in the NCAA Tournament. The 130 wins are the most all-time. The Tar Heels won NCAA titles in 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, and 2017.
UNC’s new head coach Hubert Davis is the fourth UNC head coach to lead his team to an NCAA Tournament berth in his first season at the helm. Davis and Bill Guthridge are the only coaches to win at least four games in their first NCAA Tournament as head coaches.
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