Is North Carolina still in March Madness? Looking at the Tar Heels' chances of clinching 2024 NCAA tournament title

Before the start of March Madness, the North Carolina Tar Heels (27-7) were upset 84-76 in the championship game of the ACC tournament against school rival NC State Wolfpack

The mighty Tar Heels were ranked No. 5 in the nation, while their opponents NC State struggled against ACC teams this season, accumulating a 9-11 record in conference play.

Losing before the start of March Madness this year was not ideal for the Tar Heels, especially against their in-state rivals. The second round recently concluded, and some fans are wondering if their UNC Tar Heels are still in the NCAA tournament?

Is North Carolina still in March Madness?

The answer is yes. The North Carolina Tar Heels are alive and well in March Madness and are in contention for the NCAA men's basketball championship.

North Carolina vs Wagner, First Round 2024 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

Ranked No. 1 in the West Regional, UNC were faced against No. 16 seeded Wagner Seahawks in the first round of the tournament.

The Tar Heels shook off the lost against NC State in the 2024 ACC championship, and took care of business early, finishing the first half with a lead and coasting to a 90-62 victory to secure a spot in the second round.

Fifth-year senior, Armando Bacot dropped a monster double-double (20 points & 15 rebounds) to lead North Carolina in the win.

RJ Davis led all scorers with 22 points. Cormac Ryan contributed 13 points. Off the bench, Jae'lyn Withers brought the energy to the Durham-based squad with a season-high 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Tar Heels moved on to the second round against Michigan State.

UNC coach Hubert Davis hailed Armando Bacot's performance:

"It is. It's been on my mind all season, especially a lot more towards the end that what Armando has meant to me personally, but what he's meant to this program and this university and this community."

"Somebody just made a stat, what was it, 15 rebounds, six straight NCAA Tournament games. That's unreal. Can't think of a better person to be able to do that than Armando."

Bacot also shared his thoughts on his performance against Wagner.

"It's a great feeling. I've enjoyed this whole year just being back with so many great teammates and a great coaching staff. We've had a lot of fun, and we don't plan on going home soon. That's really it."

North Carolina Tar Heels vs Wagner Seahawks Box Score

NORTH CAROLINA (28-7)
Starters	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
RJ Davis	33	8	13	0.615	4	6	0.667	4	7	0.571	2	2	1	0	2	2	2	1	0	0	2	22
Cormac Ryan	31	5	11	0.455	3	5	0.6	2	6	0.333	1	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	3	13
Armando Bacot	30	7	13	0.538	7	13	0.538	0	0		6	7	0.857	5	10	15	1	1	1	2	2	20
Harrison Ingram	29	4	7	0.571	3	5	0.6	1	2	0.5	0	0		1	4	5	1	1	0	1	1	9
Elliot Cadeau	19	0	2	0	0	2	0	0	0		0	0		0	3	3	3	0	0	4	1	0
Reserves	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
Jae'lyn Withers	21	5	7	0.714	5	7	0.714	0	0		6	9	0.667	4	6	10	3	1	0	1	1	16
Seth Trimble	13	2	3	0.667	1	2	0.5	1	1	1	0	0		1	1	2	2	0	0	0	1	5
Paxson Wojcik	8	1	2	0.5	0	0		1	2	0.5	0	0		1	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	3
Jalen Washington	8	0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0		0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
Zayden High	3	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0		0	0		0	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	0
Creighton Lebo	2	0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rob Landry	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0		0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
Duwe Farris	1	0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
James Okonkwo	1	0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0

WAGNER SEAHAWKS (17-16)
Starters	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
Julian Brown	40	6	10	0.6	2	2	1	4	8	0.5	2	2	1	0	0	0	4	1	0	2	0	18
Melvin Council Jr.	40	6	20	0.3	5	17	0.294	1	3	0.333	5	8	0.625	2	2	4	1	0	2	1	0	18
Javier Ezquerra	40	2	7	0.286	1	4	0.25	1	3	0.333	0	2	0	1	2	3	3	4	0	0	1	5
Keyontae Lewis	24	6	8	0.75	6	8	0.75	0	0		1	2	0.5	0	4	4	0	0	0	0	4	13
Tahron Allen	22	1	4	0.25	1	3	0.333	0	1	0	0	0		1	4	5	0	0	0	3	4	2
Reserves	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
Tyje Kelton	26	1	5	0.2	0	3	0	1	2	0.5	0	0		2	1	3	0	0	0	0	1	3
Seck Zongo	9	1	4	0.25	1	3	0.333	0	1	0	1	1	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	3	3
School Totals	200	23	58	0.397	16	40	0.4	7	18	0.389	9	15	0.6	7	13	20	8	5	2	7	13	62

North Carolina vs Michigan State, Second Round 2024 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

The second round was not exactly a smooth sail for UNC, as their opponents Michigan State (20-15) took an 11-point lead, 28-17, with 8:08 remaining in the first half.

However, the Tar Heels started to gain momentum soon after. Harrison Ingram's 3-pointer was the first bucket of the hot shooting 20-1 run by UNC. The first half concluded 40-31 for North Carolina.

Building on the big run to end the first half, the Tar Heels saw off the win in the second half. It was the end of the road for the Michigan State Spartans, bowing down against UNC and ending their season with an 85-69 loss to North Carolina.

Harrison Ingram was a key factor in UNC's win in the second round. The Dallas, Texas native made five 3-points against the Spartans, ending with 17 points, seven rebounds, and going 6-of-11 from the field and 5-of-7 from the collegiate 3-point line.

RJ Davis led North Carolina in scoring, dropping 20 points. Fellow starters, Armando Bacot contributed 18 points, while Cormac Ryan scored 14 points. North Carolina coach,Hubert Davis gave his thoughts on his team's ability to battle back against Michigan State.

""We started to compete. They punched first. Their physicality, their will, their want to, the first ten minutes of the game just overwhelmed us. They were catching the ball wherever they wanted to, close to the basket on the block. They were getting layups, second-chance opportunities. Defensively they were pushing us off our screens, our spots. They were just playing better than us."

"We came into the huddle and said, look, we can't talk about any basketball stuff until we join the fight. Once that started, the level of play in terms of the energy and effort, the attention to detail rose. Then that's when things started to change. We always talk about how do you react and how do you respond? And these guys, the whole team reacted and responded the right way after going down 14 in the first half."

NORTH CAROLINA (29-7)
Starters	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
Harrison Ingram	35	6	11	0.545	1	4	0.25	5	7	0.714	0	0		0	7	7	0	1	0	0	3	17
RJ Davis	34	7	15	0.467	4	8	0.5	3	7	0.429	3	4	0.75	0	1	1	1	1	0	3	2	20
Armando Bacot	32	5	10	0.5	5	10	0.5	0	0		8	10	0.8	2	5	7	3	0	2	1	2	18
Cormac Ryan	30	3	9	0.333	1	4	0.25	2	5	0.4	6	6	1	1	2	3	0	0	1	0	3	14
Elliot Cadeau	22	2	6	0.333	2	2	1	0	4	0	2	3	0.667	0	0	0	4	0	1	0	1	6
Reserves	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
Seth Trimble	18	1	2	0.5	1	1	1	0	1	0	0	0		0	1	1	0	1	2	1	0	2
Jae'lyn Withers	15	2	4	0.5	2	3	0.667	0	1	0	0	0		1	3	4	1	2	0	0	2	4
Jalen Washington	7	2	2	1	2	2	1	0	0		0	0		1	2	3	1	0	0	0	1	4
Paxson Wojcik	4	0	1	0	0	0		0	1	0	0	0		0	2	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
Duwe Farris	1	0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Zayden High	1	0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rob Landry	1	0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Creighton Lebo	1	0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0		0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
James Okonkwo	1	0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
School Totals	200	28	60	0.467	18	34	0.529	10	26	0.385	19	23	0.826	5	24	29	12	5	6	5	14	85

MICHIGAN STATE (20-15)
Starters	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
Tyson Walker	36	9	16	0.563	7	10	0.7	2	6	0.333	4	6	0.667	0	2	2	0	2	0	1	1	24
Malik Hall	34	6	10	0.6	6	7	0.857	0	3	0	5	6	0.833	2	7	9	0	0	1	4	0	17
Jaden Akins	32	4	12	0.333	2	8	0.25	2	4	0.5	1	1	1	3	1	4	1	0	0	0	5	11
A.J. Hoggard	30	1	10	0.1	0	8	0	1	2	0.5	0	0		1	2	3	4	0	0	3	3	3
Carson Cooper	15	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0		0	0		0	2	2	0	0	0	0	2	0
Reserves	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
Xavier Booker	14	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0		0	5	5	0	0	0	0	0	5
Tre Holloman	14	1	2	0.5	1	2	0.5	0	0		0	0		0	2	2	0	1	0	3	4	2
Jaxon Kohler	9	1	2	0.5	1	2	0.5	0	0		0	0		0	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	2
Mady Sissoko	8	2	3	0.667	2	3	0.667	0	0		0	0		0	3	3	0	0	0	0	1	4
Coen Carr	7	0	0		0	0		0	0		1	2	0.5	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	1
Davis Smith	1	0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Steven Izzo	1	0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nick Sanders	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0		0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
School Totals	199	26	59	0.441	20	43	0.465	6	16	0.375	11	15	0.733	6	25	31	6	3	1	11	20	69

Has North Carolina ever won the NCAA Tournament?

Yes, North Carolina has won multiple championships. UNC (six) is ranked third in the all-time list of NCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball Championships. The Tar Heels won in 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009 and 2017.

What are the Tar Heels' chances of clinching the 2024 NCAA Tournament Championship?

UNC's odds of winning the NCAA title is set at +1300 according to FanDuel, indicating an implied probability of 7.14% for the North Carolina Tar Heels to clinch the title.

North Carolina vs Alabama, Sweet Sixteen Schedule 2024 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

The No. 1 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels face off against No. 4 seeded Alabama Crimston Tide at 9:45 pm (E.T.) in Los Angeles, California. The Sweet Sixteen matchup will be televised on CBS.

The winner of the UNC-Alabama game take on either Clemson or Arizona in the Elite Eight.