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What’s the worst seed UNC has ever had in the NCAA Tournament?

By Mike Phillips

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 27: R.J. Davis #4 of the North Carolina Tar Heels dribbles the ball during the second half of the game against the St. Peter's Peacocks in the Elite Eight round game of the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Center on March 27, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 27: R.J. Davis #4 of the North Carolina Tar Heels dribbles the ball during the second half of the game against the St. Peter's Peacocks in the Elite Eight round game of the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Center on March 27, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /
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UNC is the lowest seed left in the Final Four as an 8, but is that the worst seeding the Tar Heels have had in the NCAA Tournament?

The biggest surprise left in the NCAA Tournament is North Carolina, which entered March Madness as an 8-seed and got hot to reach the Final Four. It has been a remarkable turnaround for UNC, which found itself squarely on the bubble in the middle of February after losing at home to Pittsburgh and owning zero Quadrant 1 wins at the time.

That uneven regular season performance made the 8-seed the selection committee gave the Tar Heels fair but Hubert Davis’ team deserves a ton of credit for making the best of their draw. Upset wins over Baylor and UCLA gave UNC a ticket to the Elite Eight, where they ended the Cinderella run of Saint Peter’s to set up a dream Final Four showdown against Duke.

What is the lowest seed UNC has ever had in March Madness?

Believe it or not, the 8-seed that UNC earned is actually tied for the worst seed that the Tar Heels have ever earned in the NCAA Tournament. 2022 marked the fourth time that North Carolina drew an 8-seed in March Madness and they have had varying degrees of success from that line on the bracket.

The first instance came back in 1990 when UNC won its first-round game and upset 1-seed Oklahoma to reach the Sweet 16 before falling to Arkansas. The 2000 edition of the Tar Heels followed a similar path to this year’s team, going from an 8-seed all the way to the Final Four before falling to Florida in the national semifinals.

The only other time that UNC was an 8-seed in the NCAA Tournament came in 2013 when Roy Williams’ team won its first-round game against Villanova before falling to Kansas in the Round of 32. North Carolina has already matched its highest level of success as an 8-seed by getting to the Final Four and can set a new bar by topping Duke to get to the national championship game for the first time since they won it all in 2017.

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