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UNC Basketball: Tar Heels up to 1-seed in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracket

By Blake Cockrum

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 09: Coby White #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts after a play against the Duke Blue Devils during their game at Dean Smith Center on March 09, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 09: Coby White #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts after a play against the Duke Blue Devils during their game at Dean Smith Center on March 09, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Win over Duke propels UNC basketball to 1-seed in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracket

After completing a regular season sweep of the Duke Blue Devils with a 79-70 victory on Saturday night, the North Carolina Tar Heels have moved up to the 1-line in ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s latest bracket.

The Tar Heels (26-5, 16-2) are a projected 1-seed for the first time this season, replacing the Blue Devils and joining the likes of Virginia, Gonzaga and Kentucky. North Carolina is now listed as the top seed in the Midwest region, while Duke has dropped to the second seed in the South.

Duke is joined on the 2-line by Tennessee, LSU and Michigan State. Tennessee lost its season finale at Auburn, moving the Volunteers from the top seed in the Midwest region to Virginia’s 2-seed in the East. LSU improved to a No. 2 seed after winning five straight games to close out the regular season. The Michigan State Spartans beat Michigan for the second time this season, and remain a 2-seed in the week’s bracket.

Houston, Purdue, Texas Tech and Michigan — which fell from its previous perch on the 2-line — are the bracket’s 3-seeds. Houston beat Cincinnati on Sunday to win the American Athletic Conference outright, and further solidify the Cougars among the tournament’s top 12 seeds. The Wolverines will need to have a good performance in this week’s Big 10 Tournament in order to climb back into the ranks of the 2-seeds.

Kansas, Florida State, Wisconsin and Kansas State are 4-seeds, and are followed by Maryland, Marquette, Auburn and Virginia Tech on the 5-line.

The ACC leads the bracket with nine teams, and is followed by the Big 12 and Big 10, which have eight a piece. The SEC is in third-place with seven teams in the bracket. The Big East and American Athletic Conference are both represented by four teams, while the Mountain West and Pac-12 each have two.

Tar Heels continue to rise in ESPN Power Rankings. dark. Next

Stick with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on NCAA Tournament seeding and bracket projections as we move into conference tournament play this week.

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