No. 11 seed North Carolina issued a statement in its first four on Tuesday, bringing a near-record sinking 95-68 victory over No. 11 seed San Diego State to advance to the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Despite controversial inclusion into tournaments through other bubble teams such as Indiana, West Virginia and Boise, Tar Heels made the most of their second chance opportunity.
UNC not only could win one game in the NCAA tournament, but could also run. A common theme since the first four outbreaks of 2011 is to use it as a springboard to propel them into unlikely driving. North Carolina opened as a 1.5-point favorite over No. 6 seed Ole Miss, and the path to Cinderella, operated by seed standards, is preferred.
The key to UNC’s deep tournament run is guard play and its three-point shooting. North Carolina star RJ Davis checked both boxes in the SDSU victory by scoring 26 points and knocking down all six of his three-point attempts. North Carolina made 14 3-pointers as a team. This set the most program records in the NCAA Tournament game.
The 13 teams won multiple games in the NCAA Tournament after playing in the first four. This includes VCU (2011) and UCLA (2021). Also, no. It also includes 16 seed Fairy Dickinson. Fairy Dickinson shocked the world of college basketball in 2023, upsetting No. 1 seed Purdue.
Only once (2019) the first four were unable to produce teams that would win multiple games. CBS Sports’ Zachary Pereles argued why the Texas vs Xavier winner is most likely to have a deep run on Wednesday.
I’m here to make a point about North Carolina.
All NCAA tournaments are match-ups. The unpredictability of one of the most entertaining sporting events in the world has created unlikely matchups deep within a tournament that no one thinks is impossible. If North Carolina wins (as a favorite) against Ole Miss on Friday, the matchup against Iowa’s third seed can be placed on Sunday’s card.
My expert bracket prediction (submitted before the first four began) reached the Elite 8 in North Carolina as the bottom of the Southern Region is for filming. If Tar Heels face a cyclone on a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line later this week, UNC doesn’t have to worry about Iowa star K’Shon Gilbert playing. Iowa coach TJ Otzelberger announced that Gilbert will not be available to Cyclones during the tournament hours after the release of last weekend’s bracket.
Let’s say North Carolina is making it from the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. A match (potentially) against Michigan’s second seed will appear on the deck. The Tar Heels lost one point in nail bitters to the Spartans of the Maui Invitational earlier this season.
North Carolina is just as good as any team in the area because of its pure talent. Cases and points? Adam Finkelstein of 247Sports has four North Carolina players (Davis, Seth Trimble, Ian Jackson and Drake Powell) as draftable NBA prospects. Only Arkansas, Duke, Alabama, Kentucky and Illinois are more.
North Carolina is not your traditional No. 11 species. Tar Heel has the talent (and now it’s a second chance) to run the deep tournament that most people had hoped for before the 2024-25 season began. If Tuesday was a preview of what was potential, the North Carolina season could be extended deep into March.
