North Carolina Basketball: What is the Tar Heels' recent history in the Sweet 16?

UNC will enter Crypto.com Arena this coming Thursday, March 28th, for a Sweet 16 clash with Alabama. This is appearance No. 31 all-time for North Carolina Basketball heading into the second week of the NCAA Tournament. Coach Davis will have another go at it after his first Sweet 16 appearance resulted in a triumph over Coach Mick Cronin and the UCLA Bruins back in 2022.

Enough beating around the bush; here are North Carolina's past five Sweet 16 contests.

2022: #8 UNC vs. #4 UCLA (Won, 73-66)

RJ Davis - 12 PTS, 7 REBS, 3 ASTS, 3-11 FG, 1-4 3PT, 5-5 FT
Caleb Love - 30 PTS, 3 REBS, 4 ASTS, 11-24 FG, 6-13 3PT, 2-2 FT
Leaky Black - 2 PTS, 2 REBS, 1-5 FG, 0-2 3PT
Brady Manek - 13 PTS, 8 REBS, 2 ASTS, 5-13 FG, 3-10 3PT
Armando Bacot - 14 PTS, 15 REBS, 2 AST, 6-10 FG, 2-4 FT

Well, well, well.

This game is bittersweet, to say the least. If it wasn't for former North Carolina star Caleb Love's 30-point performance, the Tar Heels would not have moved past UCLA and ultimately reached the national championship.

A wire-to-wire matchup where Coach Davis and his team trailed going into the halftime break. Only before their 45-point second-half performance, headlined by Love's incredible shot-making from deep behind the arc. 

The standout moment was Armando Bacot's possession-saving play, hurling the runaway basketball to an island that had Caleb Love present. After the catch, Love did a couple of moves and then launched a three to tie the score up at 64 apiece.

It's an interesting story to tell considering the current stakes of this year's NCAA Tournament.

Will we see UNC-Arizona soon? That remains to be seen.