NCAA Women's Tournament Bracket: North Carolina Tar Heels preview

Who? The Tar Heels of North Carolina.

When do they play in the first round? UNC will play Liberty on Saturday, March 21 at 11 a.m. ET.

What? By the most literal definition, a person with tar on their heels. There are two stories behind the name, one more pejorative than the other. Rameses is not related to the Tar Heel name at all.

Where? Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the best-educated city in North Carolina.

Why? The conference record is slightly uninspiring, but everything else is brilliant.

How? They were an at-large selection.

Surprise? Predicted to finish fourth in the conference, they finished in sixth, five games behind Notre Dame.

RPI: 15

SOS: 12

Record: 24-8 (10-6 ACC)

Good wins: Stanford in Hawai'i.

Bad losses: Getting spanked at Pittsburgh.

Who's running this show? Sylvia Hatchell, since 1986. Yep, she's baaaaaaaaack. Leukemia be damned.

Extra, Extra! The News and Observer.

Losing the 11.3 points and 6.6 rebounds of Xylina McDaniel early in the season did the Tar Heels no favors, but the talented squad recovered well behind a pair of sophomores, guard Allisha Gray (15.4 points, 7.8 rebounds) and bruising forward Stephanie Mavunga (14.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.4 blocks). Advanced stats also speak well of senior guard Brittany Rountree, the team's third scoring option.

North Carolina likes to play fast. They have a negative A/TO on the year, with a total of 473/495... but their opponents fare even worse, at 399/656.

Minor statistical note: I love Mavunga's work on the offensive boards.