At first glance I think this is a good draw for the Heels.
UNC draws Big South champion Radford in the first round. After that the Heels are looking at the winner #8 LSU vs #9 Butler. LSU is the highest seeded SEC team and Butler is a mid-major who was less than impressive at times. Assuming Ty Lawson is ready to go and Danny Green snaps out of whatever funk he is in, I expect the Heels to advance out of Greensboro.
After that the Heels will likely get #4 Gonzaga who will be tough but that is also a revenge game for this group of Tar Heels having lost to the Bulldogs in the Preseason NIT two years ago. I do not expect Illinois to give Gonzaga much trouble. In fact I am not sure Illinois makes it past Western Kentucky.
On the bottom of the bracket, UNC got Okalahoma as a #2 seed which could prove intersting since I and most of the readers at THF think the Sooners are overrated. There is a good chance #7 seeded Clemson could end up taking Oklahoma out in the 2nd round assuming the Clemson team that beat Duke makes an appearance. Syracuse is the #3 seed and undoubtedly riding a wagon of hype coming off of their Big East Tournament run. Part of me thinks Syracuse will collapse early because of the Big East Tournament drain. At the same time I am not interested in playing the Orangmen since UNC does not have a good history in the head-to-head.
The other notable name in the South is Herb Sendek's Arizona St. The possibility of the former Wolfpack coach facing UNC is out there but it would have to be the regional final and give the local media around here a chance to talk NCSU with Sendek since he refuses to return their calls.
The rest of the ACC made out decently. Duke was seeded #2 in the East behind Pitt. Duke will also be in Greensboro which will be more of a road game given the number of UNC fans that will be there. Duke's path includes Texas and Villanova as possible oppoenents or Minnesota(coached by Tubby Smith) and UCLA if some upsets occur. Florida State is the #5 seed in the East and if they play like they did versus UNC could land a date with Pitt in the Sweet Sixteen. Boston College ended up as a #7 seed which strikes me as a little high. They also get to play Pac-10 tournament champion USC. If the Eagles can slide by and data with Michigan State is ripe for an upset. If BC can beat Duke and UNC, it can beat the Spartans. The last ACC team in was Maryland as the tenth seed in the West. I do not expect them to go far but at least we get spared Gary Williams talking about tournament expansion.
In the end it matters not who is opponent. The Heels have a job to do and the talent to accomplish the task. Time to get to work.