How does 2009 stack versus other championship seasons at UNC?
| 1957 | 1982 | 1993 | 2005 | 2009 | |
| Games | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| PPG | 74.4 | 65.6 | 84.5 | 84.1 | 86.1 |
| PPGA | 66.0 | 60.8 | 68.3 | 70.3 | 67.6 |
| Avg. Margin | 8.4 | 5.2 | 14.0 | 13.8 | 20.1 |
| Title Game Margin | 1(3OT) | 1 | 6 | 5 | 17 |
| Opp. Seeds |
|||||
| 1st Round | N/A | BYE | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| 2nd Round | N/A | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Reg Semis | N/A | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Reg Finals | N/A | 3 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| Natl Semis | N/A | 6 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Natl Championship | N/A | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
- The most relevant comparisons are 2009 vs 1993 and 2005. The 1957 and 1982 title teams played in a different era(no shot clock, smaller tournament, etc) so the numbers probably do not tanslate out the same.
- In terms of 2009 vs 2005 and 1993, this team scored more points per game in the tournament and allowed fewer points per game. The points allowed is a slight shock. 2005 and especially 1993 were seen as far better defensive teams yet in the cursory look 2009 held opponents to fewer points. The fact 2009 averaged more points is no surprise since they came in with clocking 90 ppg. That being said, I also think it is pretty rare for a team to fire on all cylinders offensively like UNC did in their run.
- The stats that jumps out the most is the fact UNC's average margin of victory was 20 points. It is usually the case that with each game you win the margin of victory narrows. You also have a blowout win over some #16 seed that skews it. If you take away UNC's 43 point win over Radford, the Heels still won games by an average of 15 points.
- If you evauluate the seeds UNC faced, 1993 has the toughest path to their title. 2009 faced the 2nd toughest road followed by 2005 then 2009.
- There is some chatter, probably ABC based, that UNC did not face teams that could have beaten then i.e. Pitt, Lousiville and UConn. This is not unusual for rival fans to make an effort at delegitimatizing a title. For the record here are the teams and players UNC face:
Radford: Big South regular season and tournament champion
LSU: Ranked 20th, SEC regular season champion, Marcus Thornton, SEC POY
Gonzaga: Ranked 9th, WCC regular season and tournament champion
Oklahoma: Ranked 7th, Big 12 regular season 2nd place, Blake Griffin, B12 POY, NPOY
Villanova: Ranked 11th, Big East regular season 4th place
Michigan St: Ranked 8th, Big Ten regular season champion, Travis Walton, B10 DPOY, Kalin Lucas, B10 POYUNC faced a NPOY, three conference POY awards, four teams that finished first in the conference standings, one that finished 2nd and Villanova who finished 4th in the toughest conference in the nation. UNC did not face teams that could conceivably match up with them better but then again with the way they played does anyone honestly believe it would have mattered?
- For senimentality reasons this team also ranks fairly high but all were special to UNC fans in their own way.