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Final Four! North Carolina vs Syracuse

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Final Four! North Carolina vs Syracuse

By Don Phillips

 

NCAA Tournament | Final Four

8:49 PM ET, Saturday, April 2, 2016

NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas

 

East Regional champion North Carolina (32-6) will face Midwest Regional champ Syracuse (23-13) in the NCAA Tournament semifinal on Saturday night in Houston. The Tar Heels and Orange will take the opening tip at approximately 8:49 p.m. Eastern Time (7:49 p.m. in Houston) at NRG Stadium.

UNC has scored 357 points in its first four NCAA Tournament games this season (89.2 ppg). That is the third-best four-game start to NCAA play in UNC history. In 2008, Carolina scored 372 points in its first four NCAA games (93.0). In 1987, it scored 371 in its first four (92.8).

UNC has won each of its first four NCAA games by at least 14 points (a 16.0 ppg margin of victory).

The Tar Heels are the lone remaining No. 1 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament, marking four times in the last five years that just one No. 1 seed has reached the Final Four. The only other time UNC has been the lone No. 1 seed in a Final Four was 1998.

North Carolina has won 21 of its last 25 games in NCAA Tournament regional play, including wins over Indiana and Notre Dame last weekend in Philadelphia.

Assist-Turnover Ratio: Carolina’s assist-to-turnover ratio (1.66) ranks third in the nation and is the best of any Tar Heel team since turnovers were first recorded in 1981-82. The second-best figure is 1.53 in 1985-86. Other top-five seasons include 1.45 (2008-09), 1.45 (2011-12) and 1.42 (1997-98).

Cutting Down on Turnovers: UNC is averaging 10.7 turnovers per game, the lowest figure of any Carolina team since turnovers were first recorded in 1981-82. Last year, the Tar Heels averaged nearly 13 turnovers per contest.

There have been seven seasons in which UNC has committed fewer than 13 turnovers per game. The current record was set in 2013-14 (11.94 per game). The other seasons below 13 are 2011-12 (11.95), 2012-13 (12.3), 2008-09 (12.4), 1994-95 (12.9) and 1981-82 (12.9).

Shooting 50 Percent: UNC is 21-1 this year when shooting at least 50% from the floor.

Carolina is 175-16 under Roy Williams when its opponents shoot under 40%.

UNC’s three-point percentage of 32.1 would be the lowest in school history. The current low is 32.8 percent, set in 2010-11.

No Tar Heel player scored 25 points in a game last season, but the team has had nine 25-point performances this year by four different players: Justin Jackson (25 vs. Northern Iowa), Kennedy Meeks (25 vs. Temple), Marcus Paige (30 at Florida State) and Brice Johnson five times (25 vs. Tulane, 27 vs. UCLA, 39 at Florida State, 27 vs. Wake Forest, 29 vs. Duke and 25 vs. Notre Dame in the NCAA Elite 8).

  • Tar Heels are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 vs. Atlantic Coast.
  • Tar Heels are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games following a straight up win.
  • Tar Heels are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
  • Tar Heels are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
  • Tar Heels are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
  • Tar Heels are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS win.
  • Tar Heels are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Saturday games.
  • Tar Heels are 15-5-1 ATS in their last 21 neutral site games.

Selection: North Carolina