AUSTIN, Texas -- Following North Carolina's 59-55 victory over Tulsa, each Tar Heel ascended the ladder parked under the rim for retrieval of their own little piece of history. Each player, with scissors in hand, climbed the rungs and was serenaded with cheers from the strong North Carolina contingent that made the trek to south central Texas.

Then came Carolina coach Bill Guthridge. The 62-year-old grandfatherly figure stepped gingerly on each rung. He cut off his piece of Carolina lore and the crowd and players alike erupted in applause.

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The man who had sunk to unimaginable depths during North Carolina's 18-13 regular season was placed on a pedestal once again. And deservedly so.

Since the majority of the blame for the regular season was placed on Guthridge, the credit for the turnaround needs to be distributed in equal fashion. The Tar Heels are back in the Final Four for an NCAA-record 15th time. And no doubt Guthridge deserves most of the credit.

"I feel great for these kids," Guthridge said, trying to deflect the attention away from himself. "They stayed the course, never lost track. They've worked hard all year and now they're getting the reward. I'm just so proud of this bunch of guys. They've been through some tough times and battled back from all the negativity."

It's been a long journey for Guthridge and the Tar Heels. The season began with a loss to Michigan State in the home opener and now it's hitting full stride with a trip to the Indianapolis. The improbable run continues with the lowest-seeded team in school history living up to the same standard of excellence they had failed to for most of the regular season. Carolina managed to win four consecutive games in the NCAA Tournament when it had not won four in a row all year.

"Coach Gut never lost faith in us and we never lost faith in him," said senior point guard Ed Cota, who makes his third trip to the Final Four and second under Guthridge. "We believed we could get to this point when nobody else did. We're a team. That's what got us here. We began playing together, doing what coach wanted us to do.

"It's very satisfying to be in this position. We felt we had something to prove to ourselves. The season didn't go the way we had hoped, but coach told us we still controlled our own destiny. We could still reach some goals we set out for."

The Tar Heels' forte in the NCAA Tournament has been staging late rallies to break open close games. Now, Carolina's forte is quickly becoming freshman sensation Joseph Forte.

In the lowest-seeded regional final in NCAA Tournament history, the game between No. 8 North Carolina and No. 7 Tulsa was every bit the matchup anticipated. Carolina used its superior size to its advantage while the Golden Hurricane relied on speed and defensive pressure.

The contest was deadlocked at 41 with 9:21 remaining. Then Forte came alive down the stretch. He scored 11 of his career-high 28 points in the final nine minutes as Carolina built a seemingly comfortable 10-point cushion with a little less than five minutes left.

But as they have done all year, the Golden Hurricane scrapped their way back into contention. Dante Swanson's swipe of Cota and dunk cut the Tar Heels lead to 55-52 with 1:05 remaining. Swanson's desperation 3-pointer trimmed the deficit to two with 18 seconds left, but Cota and Forte each sank a free throw to seal Carolina's victory.

"This is a dream season," Forte said. "I'm just happy to contribute any way I can. It's an unbelievable feeling to be going to the Final Four in my freshman year."

Forget the terrible regular season: Bill Guthridge is now in his second Final Four in three years as head coach. (AP)

North Carolina is indeed headed to the Final Four. That accomplishment has been commonplace along Tobacco Road throughout the years. It was supposed to be a given this year as well. The Tar Heels were ranked as high as No.2 in the nation early in the season but somewhere along the way to Indianapolis fell off the charts and out of the rankings.

"Obviously, since we were an eighth seed, this was unexpected," said Guthridge, who leads Carolina to its second Final Four appearance in his three years.

Credit Guthridge for turning this team around.

He never lost sight of the ultimate goal and kept his team -- and himself -- focused despite losing four of its last six heading into the NCAA Tournament and whispers of Roy Williams as his successor.

He prepared them physically as well as mentally for a run of Cinderella-like proportions at a place where wearing a glass slipper is intolerable.

Few gave the Tar Heels any shelf life in the NCAA Tournament, but Guthridge made the necessary steps to bring Carolina to this pinnacle.

Much like the ones he took on that ladder.