An updated 2017 NCAA Tournament bracket after the North Carolina Tar Heels escaped the Arkansas Razorbacks, but not without controversy
On paper, the North Carolina Tar Heels should’ve absolutely handed it to the Arkansas Razorbacks on Sunday in their Second Round matchup in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. Right after the opening tip, that appeared to be the narrative that was about to play out. Things changed in a hurry, however.
North Carolina jumped out to a 17-point lead in the first half and could seemingly do no wrong on either end of the floor. But when Arkansas went to their bench and brought in Daryl Macon, the Tar Heels then couldn’t do anything right. The Hogs turned up the intensity on both ends of the floor and cut the lead to five at halftime.
In the second half, they were able to erase the deficit entirely and push out to a five-point lead of their own. North Carolina finally calmed down and kept the game closer from there. However, this was all a prelude to a wild and controversial finish.
It all began when North Carolina forced Arkansas to go late into the shot clock and force Macon to hoist up a prayer. However, it looked like his shot was tipped, even on replays. The ruling on the court, though, was that the eventual airball wasn’t touched and that UNC would get the ball. That call stood, somehow.
RELATED: Updated 2017 NCAA Tournament bracket
Then on the other end of the floor, Joel Berry ran down the shot clock and barreled into an Arkansas defender. There was no call either way, though, not even after he took extra steps. He threw up a bad shot and ultimately the Heels scored on the putback to go up three. Arkansas wouldn’t score again and UNC escaped to move on.
With the controversial win for North Carolina to move to the Sweet 16, let’s take a look at the updated 2017 NCAA Tournament bracket:
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Razorbacks fans will certainly cry foul after this game, but there’s no telling if that would’ve changed the outcome. Of course, they certainly have a point on both calls and, without question, it’ll be talked about heatedly over the next few days.