UNC Basketball: Tar Heels barely hanging on in latest Bracketology

Wednesday’s loss to Pitt is the worst so far in the Hubert Davis era for the UNC basketball program due to the impact it could have on their NCAA Tournament chances.

Going into that game, UNC appeared to be in the field of 68 following a road win at Clemson and then a big win at home over Florida State. But then Wednesday happened as UNC lost to Pitt and it gave them a Quad 3 loss at home.

So where do things stand now?

On Thursday morning, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi released his updated Bracketology on ESPN and it’s not horrible news for the Tar Heels but it’s not good news either. UNC is still in the field of 68 but they have tumbled to the “last four in” category, someplace you don’t want to be with March looming.

Joining UNC in that area is BYU, Creighton, and Memphis while Oregon, Michigan, San Diego State and SMU are among the first four out. UNC is the second team in the last four in but that could change again on Thursday with a Creighton win.

North Carolina does have another big opportunity in front of them on Saturday as they travel to take on Virginia Tech. The Hokies have won six-straight and are one of the hottest teams in the conference right now. A win on Saturday gives UNC their first Quad 1 win of the year and likely moves them into the last four byes depending on what happens this weekend.

The bottom line for UNC is that they NEED to win on Saturday, or they will see themselves sitting on the first four out line.

For more on the UNC basketball program, please make sure to check back with Keeping it Heel.