Sports
Basketball Blue-Blood North Carolina Up Next For Ohio
By: Blake Brodie
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Thirteen-seeded Ohio University will meet top seed North Carolina on Friday in the Sweet 16 in St. Louis.
Game time is 7:47 p.m. at the Edward Jones Dome.
The Tar Heels, of the Atlantic Coast Conference, defeated No. 16 seed Vermont, 77-58, in the second round. Then, the Tar Heels beat No. 8 seed Creighton, 87-73, in the third round on Sunday in Greensboro, North Carolina.
UNC is in the midst of another dominant season, boasting a 31-5 record, making this the 11th time in the program's illustrious history that the Tar Heels have recorded a 30-plus win season and the fifth time in nine seasons under head coach Roy Williams.
The Tar Heels earned the Midwest's top seed with an impressive 12-5 record against the RPI top 100, including three wins over current Sweet 16 participants (Michigan St., Wisconsin, and N.C. State).
After returning all its starters from last seasons Elite 8 appearance, the Tar Heels entered this season as the consensus preseason number-one team. But expectations tempered after a humiliating 33-point loss to Florida State on January 14.
But since then, the only blemishes on the UNC schedule have come on an Austin Rivers three-pointer at the buzzer against Duke and a three-point loss to Florida State in the ACC tournament final, making this a 16-2 stretch for the Midwest Region's top seed.
The Tar Heels did suffer a serious set back in their second round victory over Creighton, however. Point guard Kendall Marshall suffered a broken wrist and his status is unknown entering the Friday night clash.
This is the first meeting between Ohio and North Carolina since February 20, 2002. The Bobcats won that match-up, 86-78.