Conference tournaments are underway, and teams are either trying to improve their positioning on the NCAA Tournament bracket, or trying to find a way into March Madness. For the North Carolina Tar Heels, they have had a rollercoaster season, but still find themselves with a slim chance of securing a bid. Their
ESPN's Joe Lunardi revealed on his latest Bracketology update on Wednesday that North Carolina is a "first four out" team and they will keep their hopes alive if they are to beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the second round of the ACC Tournament.
Even if North Carolina were to advance, that still doesn't mean they are a lock for the NCAA Tournament, especially when you look at what Lunardi says about a team like Oklahoma.
— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) March 12, 2025
A win over Notre Dame may not help out North Carolina's chances of making NCAA Tournament
Lunardi says that the Oklahoma Sooners are "a good bet" to make the NCAA Tournament even if they don't beat Georgia in the SEC Tournament on Wednesday. But Lunardi says that a win over Georgia puts Oklahoma "over the top."
Oklahoma may not have had the best of seasons, as they are 6-12 in the SEC. The thing is, the SEC is stacked with plenty of great teams, and they picked up wins over the likes of Missouri, Vanderbilt, and Mississippi State, all of whom were ranked. Oh, and they picked up an early season win over ranked Michigan.
The pressure is on head coach Hubert Davis if he wants the Tar Heels to make it into March Madness. Perhaps the best way to do so would be to win the ACC Tournament, as that would secure an auotmatic bid. However, they would have to undoubtedly go through Duke (barring an upset). Duke has owned North Carolina this season, beating them 87-70 and 82-69 in their two meetings.
If North Carolina were to beat Notre Dame, they would have to face off against Wake Forest in the quarterfinals. From there, they would advance to the semifinals, where they'd play either Duke, Georgia Tech, or Virginia.
So yes, the Tar Heels can keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive by advancing to the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, but a deeper run could increase their chances.