UNC basketball, the No. 1 seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament, won’t know its first opponent until late Tuesday night.
No. 16 Howard (18-16) and No. 16 Wagner (16-15) tip off March Madness on Tuesday (6:40 p.m., truTV) in the opening game of the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.
The winner will play the Tar Heels (27-7) on Thursday (2:45 p.m., CBS) at Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
“I’ve watched tape on Howard and Wagner, already. … We had practice (Monday) and practice (Monday) was about us. (Tuesday), we’ll prepare and our practice will be split. It’ll be a little bit of preparation for Wagner and then preparation for Howard,” UNC head coach Hubert Davis said Monday night on his weekly radio show with Tar Heels play-by-play announcer Jones Angell.
“Then, we’ll get on a bus … and we’ll have the game on the bus. We’ll be able to watch the game and, by the time we get to Charlotte, we’ll know who we’re playing. Then, we’ll have a scouting report and get into details (Tuesday) night, practice Wednesday and let’s go on Thursday. It’s live action.”
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UNC faced similar wait-and-see situations in 2005, 2008, 2012, 2016. In three of those four tournaments, the Tar Heels advanced to the Final Four (they lost in the Elite Eight to Kansas in 2012).
Before concluding Monday’s show, Angell asked Davis what the Tar Heels need to do to advance to the Sweet 16 in Los Angeles.
“Defense, us being able to defend and rebound, take care of the basketball,” Davis said.
“The last thing I tell the guys every day, every game, is: I want them to have fun. … I want them to enjoy this experience, so that they have the memories, stories and testimonies that they can give our future Tar Heels.”
When is UNC basketball’s open practice ahead of NCAA Tournament in Charlotte?
Fans will be able to watch teams practice for free Wednesday at Spectrum Center. Doors open at 10 a.m., with open practices starting at 11 a.m. and running through 6:20 p.m. for each of the eight squads.
UNC is scheduled to practice from 12:30 to 1:10 on Wednesday. Colorado State/Virginia, Howard/Wagner, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Saint Peter’s, Tennessee and Texas are the other teams playing in Charlotte this week.
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: How UNC basketball is preparing for unknown NCAA Tournament opponent
