To the surprise of many, North Carolina men’s basketball is dancing this March.
After underachieving throughout much of the season, the Tar Heels got hot late, winning 9 of their final 12 games. UNC bowed out in the ACC semifinals against Duke on Friday night, and with shaky metrics, including a 1-12 record in Quad 1 games, more than a few people assumed the Tar Heels would be left home when the NCAA Tournament bracket was unveiled Sunday night.
“The most thing that I’ve been proud of this group is — and they’re good questions in regards to the NCAA Tournament, and those are questions that have been asked over a month,” UNC head coach Hubert Davis said following the loss to Duke. “For our guys to stay focused on what is real, and that was being the best team that we could become, continue to prepare, practice and play. Whomever we’re playing, keep our eyes focused on the competition right in front of us and be the best that we can be. And for a month and a half, we basically played must-win games.”
However, Carolina fans got good news right off the bat. When the South Region was unveiled to lead off CBS Sports’ Selection Show, there was UNC in the First Four in Dayton, matched up against San Diego State for the right to be the 11th-seed in the South.
The Tar Heels’ inclusion in the field will be debated in the coming days, but the program itself is just excited for the opportunity, sending out a simple two-word message on X/Twitter right after the draw was announced.
“LET’S DANCE,” the tweet said.
For those keeping track, UNC was one of the “Last Four In,” along with San Diego State, Xavier and Texas. All four teams will travel to Dayton for Tuesday and Wednesday’s games.
Should UNC beat the Aztecs, they will take on No. 6 seed Ole Miss on Friday in Milwaukee. We’ll see if they make the committee look wise or not.
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