Here are some random and possibly worthless items to mull over on this warm Wednesday in North Carolina.
- First up, there are a few UNC single season records within range providing the Heels play at least two more games.
The first is the UNC record for blocked shots in a season. Brendan Haywood holds the record with 120. Henson has 113 block so far this season which means barring a ridiculous eight blocks versus Marquette(which he could do) he will probably need two games to pass Haywood. If Henson does get more than six blocks he would break the UNC record for blocked shots in an NCAA Tournament game currently held by Warren Martin and Rasheed Wallace.
Henson is also sorta kinda close to Tyler Hansbrough's single season record for rebounds. Hansbrough collected 399 boards during his NPOY campaign in 2008. Henson is at 353 which means UNC would probably need to make the title game for him to have a shot at passing Hansbrough.
Kendall Marshall is presently sitting 21 assists short of Raymond Felton's freshman season assists mark. Felton set the bar in 2003 with 236 assists. Marshall is at 215. It is possible Marshall could get that in just two more games but I would not bet anything valuable on that. UNC would probably at least need to make the Final Four to give Marshall a shot at passing Felton. And yes it goes without saying that had Roy Williams pulled the trigger on Marshall as the starter before he did, Marshall would be better positioned to break the record. Marshall's assists per 40 minutes average is 10.2 which outstrips both Felton and Ed Cota in their freshman seasons.
- UNC is playing in its 24th Sweet Sixteen and 18th since the field expanded to 64/65/68. UNC is 17-6 in the Sweet Sixteen going back to 1975. UNC has won nine straight Sweet Sixteen games with a 1992 loss to #1 seeded Ohio St. as the last regional semifinal defeat.
- UNC is 18-7 as a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament which includes a Final Four appearance in 1995.
- Looking at the remaining seeds in UNC's region the Heels are 3-1 vs #11, 6-4 vs #4 and 7-3 vs #1. The lone loss to a #11 seed for UNC came versus George Mason in 2006.
- The East Regional will be held in Newark, NJ this year. In the past the NCAA has played tournament games in East Rutherford. Just for fun here are UNC's records for those games: The Heels are 6-2 all time in the NCAA Tournament at East Rutherford, NJ. UNC lost in the regional final there in 1987 and 2007 but advanced to the Final Four in 1991 and 1993 from that site. In all four instances UNC was a #1 seed.
- Newark is approximately 15 miles from Dexter Strickland's hometown in Rahway, NJ. Needless to say a big homecoming for him.
UNC departs the Smith Center at 6:30 PM on Wednesday night. The Heels will have open practice in Newark from 2:10-3:00 PM on Thursday.