April 1, 2008
By Adam
Lucas
This year's team joins just two other Tar Heel teams that have won their first four NCAA Tournament games by at least 10 points. The others are the 1995 team (which won four straight before losing to Arkansas in the national semifinal) and the 1998 team (which won four straight before losing to Utah in San Antonio in the national semifinal).
Carolina's current NCAA Tournament margin of victory of 25.3 points per game is the largest in school history. The previous record holder was the 1991 team, which went into the Final Four averaging a 19.8 point margin of victory.
When the Tar Heels take the court against Kansas, it will mark a tie for the latest game on the calendar in UNC history. The only other game in school history played as late as April 5 was the 1993 championship game (4/5/93) against Michigan.
Carolina's current 15-game winning streak is the third longest entering the Final Four in school history. The longest is the 30-game streak ridden by the 1957 team on the way to a 32-0 mark and a national title, and the 16-game streak ridden by the 1997 team before falling to Arizona in the Final Four.
With 36 wins this year, Carolina has more victories in this season than five ACC programs (Boston College, Miami, NC State, Wake Forest, and Georgia Tech) have over the past two seasons combined.
With 90 wins over the past three seasons, Carolina's current three-year mark is tied for the best in program history. The Tar Heels also amassed 90 wins from 1993-95.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of four books on Carolina basketball.
