When Auburn takes the court against UNC tonight, it will not only be looking to continue its historic run this season, but it will also attempt to right the wrongs of past Auburn teams who have had championship dreams dashed by the Tar Heels.
Auburn's previous four matchups against UNC have all taken place in a postseason tournament, and unfortunately for the Tigers, history is not on their side.
Auburn is a combined 0-4 against North Carolina dating back to the 1922 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association's basketball tournament. In the first of four past matchups between the two programs, UNC snuck past Auburn by a score of 32-27 in the second ever SIAA basketball tourney in 1922.
Going into 1926-27s SIAA basketball tournament, Auburn was 12-5 under second-year head coach Mike Papke. Auburn won its first-round matchup against Virginia Tech before going up against the Tar Heels.
Auburn was averaging around 37 points per game heading into the quarterfinals against UNC, but was held to a measly 15 points in what became Auburn's second tournament defeat at the hands of UNC.
The third matchup between Auburn and UNC came in the 1932 SIAA Tournament. Auburn was 9-2 under second-year head coach Sam McAllister. Auburn's first All-American player in program history, Jack Stewart, captained the team.
Both teams had deep postseason runs and faced off in the semifinals. Having the program's first All-American though wasn't good enough to get by the Tar Heels as Auburn lost 52-31.
According to the bigbluehistory.net and a newspaper article from the Atlanta Journal, Auburn simply ran out of gas by the time it got to the semifinals.
"For fifteen minutes Auburn made a battle of it with North Carolina, although the Plainsmen stayed in the fray only by reason of the almost superhuman skill of the frail but not fragile 'Little Father' Lumpkin," the clipping wrote. "He alone of the seven men Auburn used was on his game; the rest was halt and lame, or weary and worn."
The fourth and final matchup ahead of tonight's Sweet 16 between the two teams took place coincidentally in 1985's Sweet 16. To get there, Auburn beat Kansas in the previous round.
Seven-year head coach Sonny Smith led the 1984-85 Tigers to an SEC Tournament championship and received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The 11-seed Tigers won games in the NCAA tournament against 6-seed Purdue and 3-seed Kansas before facing 2-seed North Carolina.
Both teams had NBA talent on the court as Chuck Person led Auburn, while Kenny Smith led UNC.
When they matched up on March 22, 1985, UNC edged Auburn by a score of 62-56. UNC went into halftime with a 10-point lead and did enough in the second half to get the win.
Smith led UNC with 22 points while guard Frank Ford led Auburn with 17 points.
The record books may not favor Auburn in this series, but head coach Bruce Pearl isn't worried about the historical struggles against UNC.
"It's certainly going to be one of [the biggest games in Auburn history]," Pearl said to reporters, minutes before his visit with Williams. "What's at stake, the opportunity, and playing against such an historic program as North Carolina, obviously the stage is set."
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