First up the tournament's #1 overall seed 1982 faces the #8 seed 2003 Tar Heels.
#1 1982 vs #8 2003
Starters and Bench
| 1982 | Pos | 2003 |
| Jimmy Black | PG | Raymond Felton |
| Michael Jordan | SG | Jackie Manuel |
| Matt Doherty | SF | Rashad McCants |
| James Worthy | PF | Jawad Williams |
| Sam Perkins | C | Sean May |
| Bench | ||
| Chris Brust |
F | David Noel |
| Jeb Barlow |
F | Byron Sanders |
| Jim Braddock | G | Will Johnson |
Let's take a moment to consider the idea that Rashad McCants would be matched with Matt Doherty the player. Honestly that match-up is not nearly as interesting as what we saw when it was McCants versus Matt Doherty the coach. Jackie Manuel will get the chore of guarding freshman Michael Jordan while Jawad Williams will be tasked with trying to slow down James Worthy. If this were Sam Perkins versus junior Sean May, the center match-up would be intriguing but it's not. The point guard duel between Jimmy Black and Raymond Felton may tip in Felton's favor slightly though it should be remembered that Felton as a freshman was an awful perimeter shooter.
One issue to note is the fact the 1982 team didn't have a three point line and in our little reality here the games are being played under current rules. This may be significant or at the very least be an equalizer of sorts for 2003 given the interior advantage enjoyed by the 1982 team. The 1982 team also didn't have a shot clock which is probably not a huge deal.
In the end, the tandem of Worthy and Perkins is probably a little much for the 2003 team to handle. There is a significant edge in terms of coaching with Dean Smith easily getting the better of Matt Doherty the coach while having Matt Doherty the player as one of his starters.
That's some Star Trek space-time continuum hijinks right there.