UNC fans, rivals react to embarrassing feat of preseason No. 1 missing March Madness

The UNC Tar Heels made some history that no college basketball team wanted to make after they failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

The North Carolina Tar Heels and their fanbase knew this was potentially coming. The team fell just short of winning the national championship in last year’s NCAA Tournament and were ranked No. 1 in the preseason. Yet, the team failed to live up to the hype throughout the season.

They had one last chance of making it into March Madness. Of course, that was by winning the ACC Tournament. Instead, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by the Virginia Cavaliers.

On Selection Sunday, the Tar Heels received their confirmation — they failed to qualify for the 2023 NCAA Tournament. They were listed in the First Four Out, alongside Oklahoma State, Rutgers, and Clemson.

They are now the first team to be ranked No.1 overall in the preseason to miss out on the big tourney since the 1974-75 North Carolina State Wolfpack. They are also the first No. 1 ranked team in the preseason to miss out on the tourney since its expansion to 64 teams in 1985.

North Carolina fans lamented at a season with such promise ended in massive disappointment, while their rivals celebrated.

UNC fans, rivals react to Tar Heels making embarrassing history by missing out on NCAA Tournament

The Tar Heels faced tough odds of making the NCAA Tournament, even with a 20-13 record. That is due to the fact that they were just 1-9 against Quadrant 1 teams. Considering how valuable the selection committee considers Quad 1 records, that was already a massive detriment for North Carolina to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

This is now the first time that the Tar Heels missed out on the NCAA Tournament since the 2009-10 season. That very campaign, North Carolina made it all the way to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) final, where they lost to Dayton.

One year ago, North Carolina sent Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski into retirement in the Final Four to make it to the NCAA championship game. Now, they failed to even qualify for the NCAA Tournament.