Carolina Blue: NCAA Championship Prospects Dim After FSU Flogging

North Carolina fans who know their hoop history (such as UNC's all-time worst defeat was by 43 points against the Lynchburg YMCA Elks in 1914-15) were particularly blue after the preseason #1-ranked Tar Heels were humiliated at Florida State by 33 points, 90-57. That moody blue is because no NCAA Tournament champion ever lost a pre-NCAA Tournament game by such a wide margin. Following are the six NCAA titlists, including Carolina '93, to lose a pre-NCAA playoff road contest by more than 20 points:

Champion (Losing Margin) Pre-NCAA Playoff Defeat
UCLA '65 (27) at Illinois (110-83)
North Carolina '93 (26) at Wake Forest (88-62)
Villanova '85 (23) at Pittsburgh (85-62)
UCLA '75 (22) at Washington (103-81)
Duke '91 (22) at Charlotte vs. North Carolina (96-74)
Maryland '02 (21) at Duke (99-78)