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By Adam Lucas
1. The 8th seeded Tar Heels advance to the Final Four.
2. Some incredible historical numbers before we get to the game: Carolina now has 130 NCAA tournament wins, the most in sports (Kentucky is next with 129). The Tar Heels have been to 21 Final Fours, the most in the sport (UCLA is next at 18). The Heels were in the Final Four in nine decades, the only team in the sport to reach that mark. And Hubert Davis will be going to the Final Four in his first season as head coach, so you know there’s Bill Guthridge smiling somewhere.
3. Armando Bacot was an absolute beast from the start. Bacot completely owned the backboards and set the tone for the entire game in the opening minutes. His 22 rebounds were the most ever from a tar heel in an NCAA tournament game (Tyler Zeller vs. Ohio in 2012). He is also now fifth all-time in ACC single-season rebounds, passing Tim Duncan. Bacot has the most rebounds in a single season in the ACC in 60 years. His double-double also means he has 29 of those this season, tying Duncan for the ACC single-season record. Think of all the great men of Tar Heel… Bacot puts up numbers that have surpassed them all. He’s having an incredible season.
4. Brady Manek came to Chapel Hill and said he wanted to see what it would be like to get past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament because he had never done that in his Oklahoma career. Manek, who fell in love with the Tar Heels after discussions with Hubert Davis in a recruiting that lasted less than a week, is a big reason the Tar Heels are going to the Final Four. Manek had 19 points in 7-for-11 shooting against St. Peter.
5. Leaky Black was once again absolutely sensational defensively. He completely enveloped Doug Edert and was practically everywhere throughout the evening. Black’s acceptance and understanding of what Carolina is asking of him to be the best possible tar heels team they can be is a big reason the Heels are going to New Orleans.
6. It will be interesting to see if whoever Carolina’s next opponent might be decides on a hack-a-bacot strategy. The Tar Heel big man is just 13-to-28 from the line in his last three games. It was practically the only weak point in his game as he continues to struggle with a sore back.
7. Shaheen Holloway is a very good coach and he tried to change his defense to slow down the Tar Heels midway through the first half. It did not work. The Peacocks went into an extended 2-3 zone for three possessions, and the Tar Heels took six points on those three drives on the court. Holloway then went back to man-to-man. Do you know who else is a very good coach? Hubert Davis who had an amazing March. The final 90 seconds was chilling as all five starters hugged a tearful Davis on the UNC sideline.
8. A subtle story from Philadelphia: Carolina got some really good reserve minutes from Puff Johnson. The second division side rested both Armando Bacot and Leaky Black in the first half on Sunday, scoring a goal, sharing an assist and playing a good time in his ten minutes.
9. With Saint Peter’s being the overwhelming NCAA tournament underdog, you might have expected the crowd at the Wells Fargo Center to be strong for Peacock. However, it wasn’t nearly as a split as expected. A very, very strong showing from Carolina in Philadelphia put the arena at maybe 50-50. Tar Heel’s basketball lettermen included Bobby Frasor, Tyler Hansbrough, Marcus Ginyard, Al Wood (back in town where he had 39 points in the 1981 Final Four), Shammond Williams, Melvin Scott, Walker Miller and more. Tar Heel women’s lacrosse coach Jenny Levy was also on hand, back in town where her program won a national title in 2016.
10. There will be plenty of time over the next few days to think/stress/agonize over what’s going to happen next weekend (it’s already been announced that the Carolina game will be the second semi-final on Saturday night). However, enjoy at least until midnight as the Hubert Davis-trained Tar Heels head to the 2022 Final Four in New Orleans. And aren’t you feeling pretty good about the present and future of the Carolina basketball program right now?
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