UNC Basketball: Jerry Palm still has Tar Heels out of NCAA Tournament

CBS college basketball expert Jerry Palm still thinks the UNC basketball program is not among the current projected NCAA Tournament field.

We’ve been talking a lot about the upcoming NCAA Tournament lately, and rightly so.

The UNC basketball program is a “bubble team” based on how their season has gone so far. Of course, the best way to improve your resume is to win games, so it’s crucial that the Tar Heels finish the regular season strong and gain some momentum toward making an ACC Tournament run.

Although some analysts believe that North Carolina is currently trending toward making the big dance, CBS college basketball expert Jerry Palm thinks otherwise.

Heading into Monday night’s contest against Lousiville, Palm views the Tar Heels as one of his “first four out” teams. They are joined by Rutgers, Oregon, and Michigan as the teams that Palm thinks will just miss the cut.

In his latest article, Palm discussed the bubble teams that are in action on Monday night, and noted that the Tar Heels’ battle with the Cardinals is one that can only hurt their resume:

"“UNC followed up its worst loss of the season by winning at Virginia Tech. That is nice, for what it’s worth, but the Hokies are not a tournament team. In fact, none of the teams that the Tar Heels have defeated are in Monday’s bracket with Michigan falling out. This is a game that can only do further damage to North Carolina’s chances.”"

The opinion of where the Tar Heels stand really depends on who you ask. Joe Lunardi of ESPN has North Carolina as one of his “last four byes,” while Palm doesn’t even think they make the actual tournament.

Of course, a lot can change over the next few weeks (and you know we’ll be here to discuss it) but at this point, all the Tar Heels can do is win the rest of the games on their schedule in hopes of falling on the right side of the bubble come Selection Sunday.

Continue to follow the Keeping It Heel team for all the latest news and updates regarding the UNC basketball program and their pursuit of an NCAA Tournament bid.