FORT WORTH, Texas — The Tar Heels are dancing into the 2022 NCAA Tournament. The North Carolina men's basketball team (24-9) earned the East Region's No. 8 seed and is set to play No. 9 Marquette (19-12) at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 17.
The game will air on TBS.
"This is the most together that I feel like our group has been and the healthiest that I felt like our team has been," UNC Head Coach Hubert Davis said Tuesday ahead of the first round.
If you can't decide who to pick for your bracket, here's a look at the history of the 8-9 matchups.
Here are 8 things to know about 8-seed UNC:
1. Carolina is 4-2 all-time against Marquette. The Golden Eagles came to Chapel Hill last February and beat the Tar Heels, 83-70. UNC's second loss to Marquette was the '77 championship game.
2. This is UNC's 52nd time entering the NCAA Tournament, the second-most tournament berths all-time.
3. Carolina is a No. 8 seed for the fifth time in the NCAA Tournament (1990, 2000, 2013, 2021, 2022).
4. In 1990, Carolina beat No. 1 seed Oklahoma as an eight seed in the second round of the tournament. Head coach Hubert Davis was a sophomore on that UNC team.
5. Carolina advanced to the Final Four in 2000 as a No. 8 seed.
6. Carolina is 126-48 in the NCAA Tournament, the second-most wins all-time.
7. Carolina is 1-1 against Marquette in the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels beat Marquette in Newark in the 2011 Sweet 16 and lost to them in the 1977 championship game in Atlanta.
8. UNC fans, don't let the number fool you. No. 8 Villanova won the championship in 1985, becoming the lowest seed to ever win the tournament.
