5 things to know about North Carolina, Wisconsin’s NCAA Tournament foe

COLTEN BARTHOLOMEW [email protected]

After a disappointing regular season, both the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team and North Carolina’s are looking to turn the page and make a run in the NCAA tournament.

For a blue-blood program like UNC, finding itself in a matchup of 8 and 9 seeds is a rarity. This is only the second time in coach Roy Williams’ 15-year tenure that the Tar Heels are seeded lower than the six line — they were also an 8 seed in the 2013 tournament.

The Tar Heels (18-10) have the second-fewest wins in a season under Williams, ahead of only last year’s 14-19 finish.

Still, winning in March can wash away the ills of a regular season, and UNC poses some difficulty for the 9-seed Badgers (17-12) in the first-round matchup, slated for 6:10 p.m. Friday at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Here are five things to know about the Tar Heels: