North Carolina has earned the six seed in the ACC Tournament and has a chance to show how good they are and a spot in the NCAA Tournament. It's been an inconsistent season for the Tar Heels, but there is a wealth of talent for this club that can do some damage. UNC has the makings for a deep run in either the ACC or the NCAA Tournament. This season, North Carolina has seen a weaker conference than the ACC is used to seeing, but this is an opportune time to take advantage of that. That being said, let's preview the Tar Heels.
The Bracket
As mentioned, the competition in the ACC has not been as strong as the conference traditionally has been in the past, but anything can happen in these tournaments. UNC's first foe will be Notre Dame who has struggled a lot this season, but their defeat of Wake Forest in the first round was a good tuneup for them. In the next round, if the Tar Heels beat Notre Dame, will be Virginia Tech who is another tough side as they finished in the top three of the conference and look to be a lock for the NCAA tournament. If UNC can beat them, it is likely they will face the winner of the Florida State and Duke/Louisville winner. So, there's a possibility of that North Carolina could play Duke for a third time this season, but that would have to be in the semi-finals. The other side of the bracket has Georgia Tech and Virginia as the other top seeds in the tournament and could meet them in the finals though someone like Clemson could get in there too.
Keep Up The Pace
Seemingly despite the early struggles, the Tar Heels have been playing great basketball of late and had a good stretch down the final couple weeks in conference play. However, if they can put up a good showing like they did against Duke in the final game of regular season play, then there's a good chance UNC could go deep in this tournament. Players like Caleb Love, Walker Kessler, and Kerwin Walton will have to play at their absolute best if the team wants any chance of making a run. But with how well they are playing, there seems to be some confidence that they could make some noise. If the team is clicking on all cylinders, they are dangerous to play.
How To Make The NCAA Tournament
Despite the inconsistencies in play this year, there are some who feel like North Carolina has locked in a spot with recent play even with the frustrating loss to Syracuse. Being the six seed in the ACC tournament and being left out of the NCAA tournament would seem very unusual, but stranger things have happened. That being said, it feels like that the team needs to blow out an opponent or defeat one of the top four sides of the tournament to be a lock. Beating two would essentially help them earn possibly a six or seven seed in the NCAA tournament.
Schools To Watch Out For In This Tournament
It is March Madness after all, but there are teams that the Tar Heels will be watching. Clemson is a good side as they even beat UNC by 13 points earlier in the season, but Virginia is the class of the conference especially after crushing head coach Roy Williams and his team 60-48. Watch out for Florida State as their rotational system is very tough to beat, however North Carolina beat them earlier in the season 78-70. Then there is Virginia Tech as they seem to be struggling of late, but are still very good, plus the game where UNC was supposed to play the Hokies was postponed, so there will be some craziness to be ensued as they haven't seen each other play yet. Georgia Tech finished as the four seed and played good basketball even beating North Carolina in a five point defeat. And of course Duke as weirdly enough have struggled this year to a 9-9 conference play, but there is some talent there, however the Tar Heels swept the season series.
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