The North Carolina Tar Heels are preparing for a matchup against Syracuse on Saturday night in the Final Four.

It will be the first time UNC is playing in a Final Four game since winning the national championship in 2009, so this will be the first Final Four experience for many of those associated with the Tar Heel program, including athletic director Bubba Cunningham.

Cunningham told WCHL’s Art Chansky in Houston that he is enjoying the lead up to tipoff on Saturday night.

“It’s absolutely fantastic,” Cunningham said. “But you know what makes it so great are the students. [Thursday] night we were at the salute dinner, and the four seniors of all the teams were there and Marcus was our representative.

“With Marcus and Brice and Joel, that senior class is truly what college athletics is all about.”

Cunningham said Paige’s speech at the salute dinner may not have been quite as emotional as his senior night speech – how could it be really? – but said that UNC is “a better place because Marcus attended.”

As far as the matchup with Syracuse on Saturday night, the third time the Tar Heels and Orange have played this season, Cunningham said he likes what he has seen from UNC so far in Houston and the preparation from head coach Roy Williams.

“These kids seem to be loose,” Cunningham said. “They seem to be playing at the best as they’ve played all year. You just kind of wait and see what happens.”

Cunningham said that this experience is great for the university as a whole.

“We also have the band and the cheerleaders and there’s so many students – we have over 700 students coming down for the game,” Cunningham said. “That’s what sports does; it bring communities together.

“This is another great example of what sport can do for a university.”

Cunningham said, even though the game is being played in Houston, he expects a large Tar Heel turnout.

“Every time we travel – and it doesn’t matter if it’s New York, Chicago, LA [or] Hawaii – fans turn out in Carolina blue,” Cunningham said. “It’s some of the fans that live in North Carolina and some fans live remotely and cheer on the Tar Heels. I expect the same thing here in Houston.”

Tar Heel fans everywhere will be tuning in Saturday night to see if Carolina can knock off Syracuse for the third time this season.

The winner of the game will take on the winner of the other semifinal between the two remaining No. 2 seeds Oklahoma and Villanova in the national championship game on Monday.

Tipoff between the Tar Heels and the Orange is scheduled for 8:49 Saturday night.

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