North Carolina - most dominant tournament performance ever?

**Shane** · 04-06-2009, 09:21 PM

UNC was picked in the preseason to be the team to go to the Final Four and win the championship. They were ranked #1 in the country and had an all-star cast including Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and Danny Green. They had some iffy parts of their regular season but they made the tournament as a #1 seed and they didn't just win games in the tournament, they steamrolled their opponents. Each team they beat was beaten soundly, all by a double digit margin, including the Spartans in the championship. Their performance in this tournament, in my opinion, was the stuff of legend.

The last team in NCAA Men's Basketball to win each game by double digits in the tournament was the 1981 Indiana Hoosiers under Bob Knight. The Tarheels have done something that hasn't been done in 27 years. Is this the most dominant team in tournament history?

**TstebinsB** · 04-07-2009, 12:07 AM

Yes.

They played the SEC Champs in LSU and beat them handily with a 2nd half surge. They played Gonzaga, a team many thought could finally reach the Final Four. It was a 21-point drubbing. The played Oklahoma, a team that could've been a no.1 seed had Blake Griffin not gotten injured. They won by 12 points. They played Villanova from the vaunted Big East. The game was never in doubt. Lastly, they played Michigan State, a #2 seed that had previously beaten reigning champion, #2 Kansas, and two #1 seeds from the Big East, Louisville and Connecticut, respectively. Within the first 10 minutes, the game was over.

I don't think they're the best team in tournament history but their domination of their opponents was the soundest.

**ouch** · 04-07-2009, 07:41 AM

I was thinking more along the lines of: worst tournament ever.

**Wishoot** · 04-07-2009, 08:13 AM

I graduated from MSU and I am a die-hard Spartan who bleeds green. Unfortunately, that was one ugly game. The turnovers just killed them.

**dark_isz** · 04-07-2009, 08:27 AM

It was a beautiful game and tournament....if you are a Carolina fan.

If you aren't, I imagine it would have been pretty boring.

**juleswinnfield** · 04-07-2009, 08:34 AM

I changed it to Dancing with teh Stars....j/k It was extremely boring, no content. Think the womens finals will have higher ratings? hehe

**TstebinsB** · 04-07-2009, 11:12 AM

Originally Posted by ouch

I was thinking more along the lines of: worst tournament ever.

If I weren't a UNC fan, I would've agreed with you. However, to a UNC fan, it was poetry in motion.

**ouch** · 04-07-2009, 03:24 PM

Originally Posted by TstebinsB

If I weren't a UNC fan, I would've agreed with you. However, to a UNC fan, it was poetry in motion.

For a UNC fan, I'm sure it was a beautiful thing. They really ran away with it this year.

**DS/B MCS** · 04-07-2009, 05:21 PM

I'm not a UNC fan, but you gotta give them their props

At least they decide the Champion on the court...unlike the BCS

**kicker245** · 04-07-2009, 07:04 PM

I am a UNC fan and a current student, and I watched the game on Franklin Street yesterday and was bored after the first 15 minutes. I'm really proud of our team this year, and am ecstatic that our team didn't choke in the final four (something we are notorious for), but the tourney just wasn't that great this year

**davecmu** · 04-08-2009, 08:24 AM

Originally Posted by TstebinsB

Yes.

They played the SEC Champs in LSU and beat them handily with a 2nd half surge. They played Gonzaga, a team many thought could finally reach the Final Four. It was a 21-point drubbing. The played Oklahoma, a team that could've been a no.1 seed had Blake Griffin not gotten injured. They won by 12 points. They played Villanova from the vaunted Big East. The game was never in doubt. Lastly, they played Michigan State, a #2 seed that had previously beaten reigning champion, #2 Kansas, and two #1 seeds from the Big East, Louisville and Connecticut, respectively. Within the first 2 baskets, the game was over.

Fixed that for you.