GAME: No. 11 Air Force (22-6) vs. No. 6 North Carolina (18-10).
REGIONAL: Atlanta, First Round.
TIME: Thursday, 9:50 p.m. EST.
SITE: Pepsi Center; Denver.
North Carolina brought Roy Williams back to Chapel Hill hoping that he would lead the Tar Heels back to the NCAA tournament, and the coach delivered.
Back in the tournament after a two-year absence, the sixth-seeded Tar Heels will look to rebound from a disappointing showing in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament as they face No. 11 Air Force.
The Tar Heels have not appeared in the NCAA tournament since 2001, when they were upset by Penn State in the second round. They struggled to a 27-36 record over their next two seasons, costing coach Matt Doherty his job.
Williams took over before this season and has guided his alma mater to an 18-10 record, including an 8-8 mark in the powerful ACC.
Before coming to Chapel Hill, Williams led Kansas to 14 straight tournament appearances, the second-longest active streak in the country behind Arizona's Lute Olson, who is appearing in his 20th consecutive tournament this season.
Williams, who guided the Jayhawks to four Final Fours in 15 seasons, including last season's title game, owns a .708 tournament winning percentage - sixth-best among active coaches.
However, Williams didn't fare so well in his first ACC tournament, as the Tar Heels were defeated 83-82 by Georgia Tech in the first round on Friday. North Carolina rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit, but allowed Jarrett Jack to hit the game-winner with 1.4 seconds left.
"It's hard, I feel like I've been congratulating people for making big plays in games all year, so that part's not easy," said Williams, whose team has lost seven games by six or fewer points this season.
Sean May scored 27 points and Rashad McCants, who led the ACC with 20.1 points per game, added 25 for the Tar Heels.
"If you are a competitive youngster and realize that you've left a lot of things on the table throughout the course of the season, in my mind, you better be darned sure that there's nothing left on the table," Williams said. "I'm hopeful my team will have that kind of attitude."
A win over the Falcons would put North Carolina just two wins away from a potential matchup with archrival Duke in the regional finals. The Blue Devils beat the Tar Heels twice this season.
However, Williams said that he isn't looking ahead.
"I don't think there's any college basketball coach in the world that looks at those brackets any less than I do," he said. "When I look at the brackets, I'm looking at Air Force."
The Falcons are enjoying the best season in their 48-year history and have earned a winning record for the first time since 1977-78.
They went 13-0 at home en route to the Mountain West Conference regular season title after going a combined 9-33 over their past three seasons.
However, Air Force lost 60-48 to Colorado State in the first round of the MWC tournament on Thursday, and its chances of a first tournament appearance since 1962 did not look good. The Falcons own an RPI rating of just 70, a strength of schedule that ranks 236th, and have posted 16 wins against teams ranked 200 or lower.
"I thought we had shot ourselves in the foot with the tournament and, in my opinion, it was up in the air whether we'd get in or not," senior forward Joe Gerlach said. "It was a little nerve-wracking waiting for the announcement, not sure, knowing we didn't play well and take care of our own business. We're all thankful we got in."
North Carolina and Air Force have never met.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Air Force - F A.J. Kuhle (8 ppg, 3.1 apg), F Gerlach (8.1 ppg, 13 blocks), C Nick Welch (11.2 ppg, 4 rpg), G Tim Keller (11.3 ppg, 38 steals), G Antoine Hood (10.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg). North Carolina - F McCants (20.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg), F Jawad Williams (12.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg), C May (15.4 ppg, 10 rpg), G Melvin Scott (10.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg), G Raymond Felton (11.5 ppg, 7.2 apg).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Air Force - At-large berth. North Carolina - At-large berth.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Air Force - 0-2, 2 years. North Carolina - 81-35, 35 years.
