Say what you will about Joe Lunardi, at least he is consistent. Lunardi's anti-ACC bias has been obvious the last few seasons, as he even flaunted when the Pitt Panthers missed the NCAA Tournament last year, which was frowned upon by fans and pundits alike. It is unlikely he will try such a stunt should North Carolina fall out of the March Madness picture. Lunardi is wise enough not to mess with the blue bloods.
The Tar Heels lost to their arch rival Duke Blue Devils at the Dean Dome on Saturday night. Despite an admirable effort to keep pace in the first half to the tune of a 43-42 scoreline, the Blue Devils honed in defensively and there was little the Tar Heels could do to keep up. Duke has dominated the ACC this season, and has a real case to be the No. 1 overall seed.
While most UNC fans would argue that a tough-minded loss to Duke shouldn't disqualify them from the tournament itself, it certainly makes convincing the committee otherwise a whole lot tougher. Just ask Lunardi.
Joe Lunardi: North Carolina missed out on their golden opportunity
Prior to the Heels game against Duke, Lunardi revealed his up-to-date bracketology, which listed UNC as the first team out of the NCAA Tournament. Lunardi even wrote the Duke game was "the golden opportunity for North Carolina to move up and in."
With a victory over Duke, the Heels would've been solidly in, and there would've been little doubt in the minds of Lunardi or any other college basketball pundits. With the defeat, though, the Heels bubble is that much closer to popping.
Despite the loss and Lunardi's vision working against the Heels, head coach Hubert Davis does not believe his team has to win the ACC Tournament itself to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament field.
"You guys know me. I've never looked at it that way. I think it's most important to focus on what is real. And what is real is the game in front of you, and we play on Wednesday and our job and our responsibility is whomever we play to be prepared to play our best game on Wednesday. If we play well enough, and we get to play on Thursday, then our preparation will be focused on that. What you can control, and what we can control is, is our play and our preparation for next week on Wednesday in the ACC Tournament," Davis said.
A run to the ACC Tournament final would, at the very least, give the committee something to think about. Davis is correct in his assessment that the Heels cannot get too far ahead of themselves, however.