UNC Bracketology: Where do Tar Heels stand ahead of Duke game?
By Zack Pearson
Where do the North Carolina Tar Heels stand in latest Bracket predictors? We take a look at a few of those updated rankings
Senior Night might have been spoiled by the Miami Hurricanes on Tuesday but the North Carolina Tar Heels are still in good shape for a two seed in the NCAA Tournament.
UNC enters March with a 22-8 overall record including an 11-6 ACC mark. A win over Miami would have secured a double-bye in the ACC Tournament. Now, they can still get a No. 2 seed in next week’s conference tournament but they could also fall to No. 6.
A win over Duke gives them the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament but a loss combined with wins from NC State, Clemson and then the Miami/Virginia Tech game moves the Tar Heels down the ladder.
But despite that, they are still in good shape for the big picture.
Beating Duke would give UNC the regular season sweep and would give them another Quadrant 1 victory this season. It would also help their case come Selection Sunday.
ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi released his first Bracketology for the month of March and it bodes well for the Tar Heels.
Lunardi currently has the Tar Heels as the No. 2 seed in the West Region, a spot they have held for a week now. He has them matched up against No. 15 UC Irvine.
The No. 1 seed in that region is the Kansas Jayhawks with No. 3 Auburn and No. 4 Arizona.
UNC would love to get a two-seed and end up playing in Charlotte, rather than somewhere like Nashville.
Here’s how the Tar Heels stack up in other bracket predictors:
Bracketville (Updated Feb. 28)—No. 2 seed in East Region vs. UNC Asheville. No. 1 seed: Villanova, No. 3 seed: Cincinnati, No. 4 seed: Texas Tech. Notable other teams: Kentucky (5), Miami Fl (8), Syracuse (12 FIRST FOUR GAME)
Jerry Palm on CBS (Updated March 1) — No. 3 seed in Midwest Region vs. (14) Rider. No. 1 seed: Xavier, No. 2 seed: Michigan State, No. 4 seed: Wichita State. Notable other teams: Gonzaga (5), Michigan (6), Virginia Tech (8), Butler (10).
Real Time RPI (Updated March 1) —No. 2 seed in Midwest Region vs. (15) Northern Kentucky. No. 1 seed: Duke, No. 3 seed: Ohio State, No. 4 seed: Kentucky. Notable other teams: Miami Fl (5), Florida State (11).
Brad Evan’s Bracket Big Board on Yahoo! Sports (Updated Feb. 27) — No. 2 seed (Seventh overall).
As you can see, there is some variety in this. The common trend is UNC is a No. 2 seed but still behind Duke.
Palm is the only one that actually dropped UNC following the loss to Miami. The good news is that there is still an opportunity for UNC to help themselves with the Duke game and ACC Tournament.
A win Saturday and avoiding a bad loss in the ACC Tournament should just about lock it up for the Tar Heels as a No. 2 seed.