UNC is going dancing, and to many, it's a shock. There are always surprises on Selection Sunday, but the inclusion of the Tar Heels in the NCAA Tournament stands out as one of the most jarring takeaways this season.
Many have expressed their surprise and confusion about North Carolina receiving a March Madness bid, and NCAA analyst Jay Williams is no exception. He and Jay Bilas discussed UNC's place in the tournament on ESPN Sunday.
"To me guys, that's my biggest takeaway from this whole thing, is for North Carolina. I don't know how they made the tournament and West Virginia didn't make the tournament," Williams said. "North Carolina had 11 opportunities to play against teams in the field, they only won one of those on a neutral court in December. They have four losses to teams that didn't make the tournament... I just feel like West Virginia is way more deserving to be in the tournament than North Carolina."
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Bilas, an alum of North Carolina rival Duke, did not want to entertain this conversation.
"I'm not as worked up about the end of the line this year as I have been in past years," Bilas said. "We spend too much time talking about the 30th-best team in the country or the 35th-best team in the country."
UNC's 2024-25 season at a glance
A big piece of evidence that is being used to analyze North Carolina's season is its Quad 1 record. The Tar Heels went 1-12 against Quad 1 opponents this year, creating doubt over whether they can compete with other NCAA Tournament teams this year.
UNC looked more like the blue blood people have come to know toward the end of the season. Hubert Davis' squad went 8-2 in its final ten matchups, with both losses coming against top-seeded Duke. The Blue Devils defeated the Tar Heels three times this season for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
The Tar Heels are 36th in NET rankings and had a strong nonconference schedule, which likely contributed to them receiving an NCAA Tournament bid. UNC received an eleven-seed and will face fellow eleven-seed San Diego State. The winner will face off against Ole Miss in the round of 64.
Selection Sunday came with many surprises, including UNC making March Madness, but Jay Williams still doesn't seem eager to talk about the Tar Heels.
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