Obviously, North Carolina dropping its first game in the tournament is disappointing, considering that they just came off an embarrassing loss against the Duke Blue Devils last weekend. Due to this result, the Tar Heels’ seeding in the NCAA tournament could take a hit. Here is a projection for where North Carolina will be seeded in the upcoming tournament.
Missed Opportunity for the Tar Heels
Before we break down North Carolina’s potential positioning, which will be revealed on Sunday, it is important to note how much of a missed opportunity this was for the Tar Heels.
North Carolina would have been slated to face Duke for a third time this season, which would have been a daunting task to reach the conference tournament championship. However, Duke is short-handed, with Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba both out, and their absences were apparent on Thursday night against Florida State.
Duke faced an eight-point deficit halfway through the second half against the Seminoles, who have been one of the worst teams in the conference this season, evident of their seeding in the tournament. The Blue Devils were able to escape with a 80-79 win, but they are clearly vulnerable with the lack of depth due to the aforementioned injuries. Obviously, we will never know if the Tar Heels would have been able to exploit Duke’s current situation, but it would have been a massive opportunity to do so.
Predicting North Carolina’s Seeding in the NCAA Tournament
Heading into Thursday night, the Tar Heels were viewed as a six-seed, and would have likely cemented that positioning with a win over Clemson. North Carolina would not have been penalized for losing to Duke, as the Blue Devils are the No. 1 team in the country. Given the result and considering Caleb Wilson is out for the rest of the season, I would have to project the Tar Heels as a seven-seed in the NCAA tournament.
North Carolina’s Seeding Projection in March Madness
The Tar Heels suffered a disappointing loss against Clemson on Thursday night in the ACC tournament.
