North Carolina Tar Heels 2008/09

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Tar Heels Atlantic Coast
Coach: Roy Williams
Record: 34-4
Dance Seed: 1
Dance Result: Nat’l Champ
Players: Tyler Hansbrough
Ty Lawson
Wayne Ellington
Danny Green
*Deon Thompson
NCAA Stats CategoryRank+/-
RPI absolute 1 A+
Scoring Offense * 2 A+
Scoring Defense * 275 D
Free-Throw Percentage * 18
Rebound Margin * 17
Assists Per Game * 5 A+
Turnovers Per Game * 52
Scoring Margin 1 A+
Field-Goal Percentage 15
Field-Goal Percentage Defense 64
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage 20 A-
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game 93 B-
Won-Lost Percentage 1 A+
Blocked Shots Per Game 20 A-
Steals Per Game 26 A-
Personal Fouls Per Game 25 A-
Assist Turnover Ratio 4 A+
ThreePt FG Defense 134 C+
Turnover Margin 17
MPI - Marchpool Index 3 A+
Dance of 68 StatsRank+/-
Paint9A-
Shooting8
Offense9A-
Poise1A-
Defense51
Ball Control19B+
Dominance3B+
Resilience9A-
RPI Decade3A+
2009
Nat’l Champ
#2 Seed: A strong case could be made that the 2008/09 National Champion UNC Tar Heels would be the Vegas odds-on-favorite to win this fantasy March dance of the decade.  This Carolina team had no weakness per se.  With a starting lineup structured like an NBA squad, these Heels were an offensive monster, where defense was delegated to a secondary task by Roy Williams' (intelligent) design. Would Roy's defense/secondary approach work against this decade dance line up of 68 powerhouses?   It's a fair question!  A solid mixture of dominance that evolved into resilience; even a midseason slump and gimpy Ty Lawson March ankle couldn't stop these Heels.  Easily the most dominant March dance performance of the digital decade, they were a nightmare matchup; a team that had poise in their heart and ice in their veins. The 08/09 Tarheels were the rarest of dominant teams; superior athletes with superior focus and Senior leadership, all the way down to hitting their free throws. The eye test would probably give these Heels the overall #1 seed in the digital decade dance, even if the accumulated stats formula only justifies a #2 bracket slot.