Why Roy Williams wins so many NCAA tournament games in North Carolina

Buildings don’t win games, teams do.

This is one of Roy Williams’ favorite adages. The North Carolina coach said it after a loss at Virginia earlier this season and he has said it often when he is asked about the topic of the Tar Heels playing NCAA tournament games in the state of North Carolina.

For the ninth time in 15 years, Williams will get the chance to stay close to home and play in the NCAA tournament. The Tar Heels (25-10), the No. 2 seed in the West region, open the tournament on Friday in Charlotte with No. 15 seed Lipscomb (23-9).

UNC is 16-0 in the state in NCAA games under Williams, including a 6-0 mark in Charlotte. The Heels won first- and second-round games in Charlotte in 2005 and ’11 and a pair or regional games in ’08. The Heels have also been perfect in Raleigh (4-0), Greensboro (4-0) and Winston-Salem (2-0).

There’s no denying a little fan support can help but to Williams’ point, every game UNC has played in the state it has been either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed. The Heels have been a No. 1 seed seven times during Williams’ tenure. All three of Williams’ national title teams (’05, ’09, ’17) and all five of his Final Four team (’08 and ’16) were a No. 1 seed.

Williams’ record with UNC as a No. 1 seed is 33-4. His other six NCAA teams have a combined 9-6 record as a No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 6 (twice) and No. 8 seeds.

The only other time UNC has been a No. 2 seed under Williams was in 2011 when the Heels also started the tournament in Charlotte. They beat Long Island and Washington in the opening rounds before going to Newark, N.J. for the regional. They beat Marquette, and current Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams, in the Sweet 16 but lost to Kentucky in the Final Eight.

Two wins in Charlotte this week would send the Tar Heels to Los Angeles. Williams has only been to California with the Heels once — a Sweet 16 loss to Wisconsin in 2015.

California and Texas (2-3) are the only states where Williams has a losing NCAA record with UNC.

This story was originally published March 15, 2018 at 8:24 AM with the headline "Why Roy Williams wins so many NCAA tournament games in North Carolina."