The North Carolina Tar Heels are in the Final Four again. It’s the 20th time — the most for any program — and it’s the second consecutive year. Last season, the Tar Heels lost to Villanova in the national championship on a game-winning 3-pointer by Kris Jenkins.
They’re hungry for the title after it was swiped away from them in mere seconds.
How did they get here? And what makes them good?
North Carolina ended the season with a 26-6 record. The team was the regular season ACC champion with a 14-4 conference record, but ultimately lost to Duke in the semifinal of the conference tournament.
Despite the loss, the Tar Heels received a No. 1 seed in the Southern Region of the NCAA Tournament. They cruised through Texas Southern 103-64, but they struggled against Arkansas in the second round.
“We were really lucky,” North Carolina head coach Roy Williams told TNT after the game.
The Tar Heels only led by one with 49 seconds left, and because of some fortunate bounces and missed free throws by Arkansas, they won.
A big reason why they won was because they grabbed 18 offensive rebounds. North Carolina is one of the best rebounding teams in the country. They grab a nation leading, and mind boggling, 42 percent of their missed shots, according to kenpom.com
“North Carolina is probably the best rebounding team that we faced all year. And their offensive rebounding gives them an opportunity to score,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said. “So we’ll have to do a great job on the boards Saturday.”
Senior Kennedy Meeks is one of the best rebounders in the country. He ranks in the top 10 in the nation with an average of 3.68 offensive rebounds per game and 11th in total rebounds. Against Kentucky, in the Elite Eight, Meeks grabbed 17 total rebounds.
“With [Meeks], it’s just the want-to and getting his body in shape and going because he’s a fantastic rebounder,” Williams said.
Defensively, North Carolina allows opponents to grab 24.7 percent of their missed shots — one of the lowest numbers in the nation.
In the Sweet 16, the Tar Heels handled No. 4 seed Butler relatively easily to setup a showdown against No. 2 seed Kentucky. Against Kentucky, a back-and-forth game ended in North Carolina’s favor when walk-on Luke Maye hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer.
An important development in the game was the injury to starting point guard Joel Berry. He injured his left ankle in the first half, but he continued playing throughout the game. It was clearly bothering him as he was less assertive on offense after the injury.
“He’s got a pretty full schedule of rehab this afternoon,” Williams said. “Hopefully by the time we get to Thursday or Friday, he’ll be able to do some things in practice, but I’m scared to death right now because I don’t know.”
North Carolina ranks in the top 20 in defensive efficiency and top 10 in offensive efficiency, so there is no true weakness Oregon can attack. The Tar Heels are an average team when it comes to blocking shots and stealing the ball. Expect Dillon Brooks and Tyler Dorsey to continue to attack the rim. Offensively, North Carolina makes 36 percent of its 3-point attempts.
Forward Justin Jackson is their offensive leader and overall best player. Yesterday, he earned a spot on the John R. Wooden Award’s All-American Team. Brooks was named to the team as well.
North Carolina may be the best team Oregon has faced all year, however, so was Kansas.
Follow Jack Butler on Twitter @Butler917
Find all of the Emerald’s Final Four coverage here.