In a controversial decision, the UNC Tar Heels got the last ticket to the 2025 NCAA Tournament. As questions mounted over the Tar Heels making the field instead of schools like West Virginia or Indiana, North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunnigham, who is also the Chairman of the NCAA Men's Basketball Selection Committee went on the air on CBS right after the selection to explain the situation.
Cunningham opened up about the process when asked by analyst Seth Davis.
“All the policies and procedures were followed and (vice chairman) Keith (Gill) can address exactly how North Carolina was discussed because I was not in the room for any of that,” Bubba Cunningham said.
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Gill went deeper into how the committee ultimately decided on giving UNC the final spot on the field after mentioning that any representative from a school is not allowed to participate in discussions about their school.
“We voted in four teams in the field on Saturday night and we had a contingency vote. And the contingency vote, that was the last team on the field and it was based on Memphis and UAB.
“If Memphis won that game, that was going to free up a spot in the tournament and that was going to be North Carolina. If UAB had won, then Memphis was going to be in the tournament, UAB would have been in the tournament and North Carolina would have been the first team out,” Keith Gill explained.
Regardless of the explanation, North Carolina’s selection over other teams will surely be a hot topic during the tournament, especially if the Tar Heels keep advancing. West Virginia, Indiana and even Boise State performed better than the Tar Heels against quad one teams. Instead, Carolina is going dancing.
UNC will face the San Diego State Aztecs in the first four on Tuesday, with the winner advancing to play Ole Miss on Mar. 21.
UNC bid saves ACC from lowest point in 25 years
The controversial selection of UNC as one of the last four teams in allowed the ACC to make it 25 years in a row with at least four teams in the national tournament. The last time the conference had less than four teams was in 1999, when Duke, Maryland and North Carolina made the field.
The ACC had a difficult 2024-2025 season. While Duke is a bonafide title contender, there is little depth behind the Blue Devils. Clemson and Louisville made the tournament but were only good enough to earn fifth and eighth seeds respectively. The Tar Heels were the last team in the field and no other school was under serious consideration for the tournament.
It’s also worth noting that the conference had only nine teams in 1999, the last time only three teams made it to the big dance, compared to the 18 teams that played there this season.
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