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UNC Basketball: Big news for Tar Heels on Bracketology front

By Blake Cockrum

Mar 12, 2021; Greensboro, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams reacts as his team plays the Florida State Seminoles during the second half in the 2021 ACC tournament semifinal game at Greensboro Coliseum. The Florida State Seminoles won 69-66. Mandatory Credit: Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 12, 2021; Greensboro, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams reacts as his team plays the Florida State Seminoles during the second half in the 2021 ACC tournament semifinal game at Greensboro Coliseum. The Florida State Seminoles won 69-66. Mandatory Credit: Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports /
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The UNC basketball program could be waking up to good news on the Bracketology front after a disappointing ACC Tournament loss to Florida State.

After losing an ACC Tournament semifinal matchup to Florida State on Friday night that was among the worst officiated games I’ve ever seen, the Tar Heels may actually be better positioned in the upcoming NCAA field of 68 than they were beforehand.

On Saturday morning, ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi moved the Tar Heels up to a 7-seed in Region 4 of his latest NCAA Tournament projection. Now, let’s not get too carried away with that, as Lunardi himself is just a bubble team in the realm of bracketologists. Still, though, it does suggest that there’s a chance that the Tar Heels make it off of that daunting 8/9 line that’s slated to play the likes of Gonzaga, Baylor, Illinois or Michigan in the tournament’s Round of 32.

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Other NCAA Tournament projections, however, still project the Tar Heels as a 9-seed, or in some cases a 10-seed after last night’s defeat. The latter could certainly play in the Tar Heels’ favor, at least if you’re one of those “let’s avoid the top seeds in this tournament” kind of people.

I, for one, am not ready to see the Tar Heels face off with Gonzaga or Illinois in the first weekend of the Big Dance. Although the Tar Heels, at their best, can compete with any team in the nation, I’m not sure that one of their patented slow-start, strong-finish games will translate well against a team of that stature in the NCAA Tournament next weekend.

At this point, it’s simply too difficult to accurately predict how the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee will feel about this UNC team. Where does an 18-10 team that never won more than three games in a row throughout the season, but has wins over Louisville, Florida State and Virginia Tech over the last month belong in the tournament?

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Stick with Keeping It Heel throughout the week leading up to the NCAA Tournament for all the latest on the UNC basketball program.

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