A No. 16 seed has never beaten a No. 1 seed in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Radford gets a shot today in its first-round game against North Carolina.

Inspiring the Highlanders

Well, Radford coach Brad Greenberg tried. On the bus ride to Greensboro, N.C., Greenberg showed his team a tape of the 1981 NCAA tournament game between No. 9 St. Joseph's and top-ranked DePaul, widely considered one of the greatets upsets in tournament history. Most RU players slept during the screening, Greenbert said.

Daunting task

This is the 10th time since the tournament field was expanded to 64 that North Carolina has been a No. 1 seed. In its other nine opening-round games, the average margin of victory was 26.4 points. The smallest victory margin for UNC against a 16-seed was 82-74 over Fairfield in 1997. The average margin of victory for all No. 1 seeds in the past 24 seasons is 25.2 points.

How can the Highlanders keep the game close?

Defend like crazy. The Tar Heels rank second in the nation in scoring at 90.2 points a game. RU can't concede easy shots or let UNC go off in transition. Offensively, the Highlanders will ride the two standout post players that have brought them here, Art Parakhouski and Joey Lynch-Flohr.

Second time around

Radford was a 16 seed in 1998 when it faced Duke in the first round. It was never close as the Highlanders lost 99-63.

Who is picking Radford?

"Probably nobody. That's cool, though. We've been the underdog for a long time."  -- RU forward Joey Lynch-Flohr