While it's fair to argue the North Carolina Tar Heels don't deserve a spot in the NCAA Tournament based on their regular season resume of roster, college basketball fans have instead floated into the conspiracy theory realm (because of course they have).
North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham was a member of the selection committee. With UNC squarely on the bubble, he reportedly removed himself from the room and/or conversation whenever the Heels came into question. The Tar Heels were among the Last 4 In, and thus will play in the 'First Four' as a No. 11 seed. Many pundits were surprised UNC made the tournament to begin with, given the weak state of the ACC and the Heels loss to Duke in the conference tournament.
“I was shocked as well,” Seth Greenberg said. “Look, everyone says, you know, he recuses himself from the meeting where they talk about North Carolina, but breakfast, lunch and dinner, they are all together talking about the big picture of the bracket. Secondly is, look, Bubba Cunningham is a good man, and he is in charge of that committee, that committee group. They probably do not want to disappoint him."
Bubba Cunningham conspiracy theory takes hold after UNC makes NCAA tournament
I guess? To suggest that these very capable committee members cannot separate personal relationships from their duty to select the best 68 teams is a little much. Again, there are plenty of arguments to be made about why North Carolina is not one of those teams, especially when looking at their resume compared to several programs in the First 4 Out. I can get behind those talking points.
Where Greenberg loses me is when he turns the Tar Heels selection into a borderline conspiracy theory. It's just the NCAA Tournament, not watergate. From the sound of it, Cunningham takes his job more seriously than the ESPN pundits gave him credit for.
“I’ve been on the committee now for five years, I’ve watched four others lead the committee. And I think it’s been a great learning experience. You do have an opinion, you do have your own thoughts and your own ideas," Cunningham said. “But the responsibility of the chair is to have the committee work together to be fair, to find the best 37 to put in the field, and allow everyone to speak their mind. We follow those procedures as they have been prescribed and used for a number of years.”
Cunningham is capable of thinking critically, and is smart enough not to insert his opinion about the Tar Heels, or else he wouldn't be in such a position. Even so, the committee took every possible precaution to avoid providing fodder to conspiracy theorists. Unfortunately, even that wasn't enough.