COLUMBUS, Ohio — The North Carolina Tar Heels will begin their quest for a seventh national championship Friday when the take on No. 16 seed Iona in the NCAA Tournament.
North Carolina earned the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region, which features fellow blue bloods Kansas and Kentucky, as well as underdog Wofford, who won their first ever NCAA Tournament game Thursday against Seton Hall.
The Tar Heels are just trying to keep their focus on the task at hand before they worry about who they could see down the road, though.
"You've just got to stay focused and stay hungry throughout the tournament and just take it one game at a time," said freshman Coby White.
In an effort to keep his team comfortable, Roy Williams pulled a prank on his freshmen during Thursday's practice. When the team was taking the court, he held the others back while the freshmen ran out all on their own.
"Coach [Williams] enjoys making sure that the crowd has a good time," said senior Luke Maye.
Don't let Williams' prank fool you, the Tar Heels are all business. They were in Charlotte last year when Virginia became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16 seed in tournament history. They know it could happen to them if they don't take this game seriously enough.
"There's a lot more at stake," said Cam Johnson. "There's a lot more to play for right now, and you've just got to embrace it and do your best."
"We're trying to get ready to play Iona and I tell the guys come on now, if we play well maybe they'll let us stay around and play another one," said Roy Williams.
Columbus, Ohio Regional Friday Schedule
Game 1: 12:15 p.m., No. 10 Iowa vs No. 7 Cincinnati
Game 2: 2:45 p.m., No. 15 Colgate vs No. 2 Tennessee
Game 3: 6:50 p.m., No. 9 Washington vs No. 8 Utah State
Game 4: 9:20 p.m., No. 1 North Carolina vs No. 16 Iona
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