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After missing out on the Big Dance for just the fourth time since 1975 last year, North Carolina came roaring back and clinched a No. 1 seed in the West Region for this edition of the NCAA Tournament.
Ahead of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Tar Heels legend Joe Quigg, who led North Carolina to the 1957 national championship, narrated a video on what it means to be part of the storied program in the Big Dance.
"It seems like yesterday, 67 years ago, I made two free throws that changed my life," Quigg said. "Two simple shots, unguarded, 15 feet from the basket. It forever changed how people knew me.
"I'm not a star, but I sign autographs. I'm not a legend, but I pose for pictures. Nearly three-quarters of a century later, I get to walk into one of the greatest arenas in America and see a permanent reminder of my team, of my friends, of some of the greatest times in my life. The opportunity to play in NCAA games can be life-changing."
Joe Quigg was involved in one of the most talked-about national championship games. He scored the free throws that clinched the 54-53 triple-overtime win for UNC against the Kansas Jayhawks.
He also blocked a pass to center Wilt Chamberlain that would have led to the Jayhawks retaking the lead.
UNC seeks to return to the top table
Fifth-ranked UNC (27-6) lost 72-62 to the NC State Wolfpack in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship game after a solid regular season (27-6) in which the Tar Heels beat their archrivals, the Duke Blue Devils, twice.
Not making the NCAA Tournament last year was the first time for UNC since 2010 and only the fourth time in 48 years since the inception of the tournament.
The first team that the No. 1-seeded Tar Heels will face is the Wagner Seahawks (17-16), who have a rotation of only seven healthy players with practice games involving coaches playing as the opposing team more often than not.
UNC will be expected to stroll through the encounter but as other upsets in the past few years have shown, the smaller teams take the opening rounds of March Madness seriously and can shock more illustrious opponents.
In its quest to return to the top as one of the most decorated college basketball sides with seven national championships, UNC will have a tough bracket to negotiate that includes the Arizona Wildcats.
