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The UNC Tar Heels` recent loss in the ACC Tournament to the NC State Wildcats knocked them out of the conference title race.
Naturally, fans are asking whether North Carolina can still make the NCAA tournament following one of the most significant upsets in recent college basketball memory.
Here`s a quick look at their chances of making the Big Dance.
Is UNC in March madness? Analyzing the current scenario
At the moment, North Carolina is a virtual lock for March Madness as one of the best teams in the nation. Winning an ACC title should understandably not be their main focus, as they would love to bring a national championship back home for the first time since 2017.
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The most recent bracketologies have the Tar Heels as a high overall seed. For one, ESPN`s Joe Lunardi has them as the top seed in the Western bracket in LA. Moreover, they`re also ranked fourth in the nation, so there`s no reason for them not to get in.
Pundits concur, with one claiming that the ACC tournament is not meant for North Carolina getting into the Big Dance but for everyone else (via Spectrum Local News).
NC State`s upset victory earned them an automatic bid already, so that`s an amazing feat for them.
Has UNC ever won the NCAA?
They have, six times: 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009 and 2017. Perhaps the most famous of those titles came in 1982, won by a young Michael Jordan who was then a freshman.
It was off one of the biggest clutch shots in North Carolina basketball history and the veritable start of Jordan`s legendary career.
Moving down, the last time North Carolina won in 2017 was when they beat a stacked Kentucky Wildcats team led by eventual NBA stalwarts Malik Monk, Bam Adebayo and De`Aaron Fox.
Who are the likely top four teams for March Madness?
They are Houston, UConn, Purdue and UNC. North Carolina is once again a high overall seed, which could bode well for them going deep into the NCAA tournament barring an upset in the earlier rounds.
The Tar Heels are ranked fourth and are the worst of the top-four, but do not let that fool you. They have the star power to go up to the best, and all they need is a chance to prove things, one they already have at this year`s March Madness.
