As the sport’s biggest month approaches, especially with North Carolina sports betting arriving, there aren’t many states that have as deep of a connection to NCAA men’s basketball as North Carolina has established over the years.
Among the UNC Tar Heels, Duke Blue Devils, NC State Wolfpack, Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the state’s mid-majors like Davidson, UNC-Wilmington and UNC-Asheville, there’s no shortage of March Madness history at North Carolina universities from the highs of Appalachia to the shores of the Atlantic.
With the college basketball season heating up and March Madness fast approaching, many bettors are turning their attention to who will be this year’s Cinderella team. If history tells us anything, that team will come from one of the following states.
Every Double-Digit Seed to Make the Sweet 16 Since 2000
States With Most Double-Digit Seeds Reaching Sweet 16
Where North Carolina Ranks In Terms Of NCAA Tournament Cinderella Teams
The Wolfpack teams of 2005 and 2012, in combination with the Steph Curry-led Davidson Wildcats of 2008, represent North Carolina’s three teams that entered the Big Dance as a double-digit seed to make it to the Sweet 16.
Those NC State teams were coached by Herb Sendek (2005) and Mark Gottfried (2012), reaching the regional semifinals each year. The Wildcats of Davidson made it all the way to the Elite Eight in 2008 before falling to Kansas, 59-57.
That year, Curry led the Wildcats as a 10th seed over No. 7 Gonzaga in the first round, with the future Warriors star scoring 40 points in an 82-76 victory over the Bulldogs.
From there, the star guard dropped 30 more against No. 2 seeded Georgetown to pace Davidson to another upset victory, followed by a 33-point outing in the team’s 73-56 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers in the Sweet 16 to reach the program’s first Elite Eight in 39 years.
In total, Davidson’s Wildcats of 2008 and the Wolfpack of 2005 and 2012 are the representatives from North Carolina to reach the third round of the Big Dance as a double-digit seed this century.
This year, ESPN bracket guru Joe Lunardi has HBCU powerhouse North Carolina Central (16th seed), Appalachian State (12th seed), UNC Wilmington (13th seed), High Point (15th seed) as this year’s double-digit crop in the 2024 Big Dance. UNC odds (2nd seed) and Duke odds (4th seed) are comfortably in the field and Wake Forest is listed as the first team out of the field of 68.
If any of the five North Carolina colleges currently listed as a 10th seed or higher get hot at the right time, the state could add to their already impressive Cinderella count in 2024, drawing ever closer to national leaders Ohio (five teams since 2000), California, New York and Washington State (four teams apiece since 2000).
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