By R.L. Bynum
CHARLOTTE — Given its small margin of error as a bubble resident, North Carolina can only do what it can control to make the NCAA tournament.
The consensus is that the Tar Heels (20–12), who are 40th in the NET rankings, probably need to beat Notre Dame (14–17), a 55–54 Tuesday winner over Pittsburgh, at 2:30 in Wednesday’s second round of the ACC tournament, then knock off Wake Forest (21–10) at 2:30 in Thursday’s quarterfinals and No. 1 Duke (28–3) at 7 p.m. in Friday’s semifinals to assure that they make the field.
Short of that, UNC will have to get help from the other teams battling in the bubble. Doc Kennedy provided a good rundown of the Tar Heels’ competition to make the field.
One problem for Carolina is that Duke would be its first Quad 1 chance in Charlotte. Notre Dame, which moved to 99th in the NET after the win over Pitt, is a Quad 2 game and Wake Forest is 69th in the NET, making that a Quad 2 game.
Three teams battling for NCAA berths — Oklahoma, Indiana and Texas — could get multiple Quad 1 chances in their league tournament this week.
Here’s a rundown of when those other teams play and who to cheer against if you are a Tar Heels fan, based on Joe Lunardi’s ESPN projection of the “last four in” and the “first four out.”
First four in
Oklahoma
20–12, 6–12 SEC; NET: 45; BPI: 45; SOR: 41; WAB: 35
The No. 14-seed Sooners beat No. 11-seed Georgia (20–12; 30th in the NET) 81–75 in a Quad 1 game Wednesday at the SEC tournament in Nashville, Tenn. Oklahoma next plays a second-round game at 9:30 p.m. Thursday against No. 6-seed and 15th-ranked Kentucky (21–10; 12th in the NET) in another Quad 1 game, with a 9:30 p.m. Friday quarterfinal matchup against No. 3-seed and fifth-ranked Alabama (24–7; 6th in the NET) after that if the Sooners get that far, which would also be a Quad 1 game.
Indiana
19–12, 10–10 Big Ten; NET: 52, BPI: 52; SOR: 47; WAB: 44
The Hoosiers play in the second round of the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis at noon Thursday (Big Ten Network) as the No. 9 seed against No. 5 and 18th-ranked Wisconsin (23–8; 19th in the NET) in a Quad 1 game. A win would advance the Hoosiers to a noon Friday game against No. 1-seed and 7th-ranked Michigan State (26–5; 10th in the NET) in another Quad 1 game.
Xavier
21–10; 13–7 Big East; NET: 44; BPI: 39; SOR: 40; WAB: 46
The Musketeers, the No. 4 seed in the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden, face No. 5-seed and 25th-ranked Marquette (25th in NET; 22–9) at 2:30 p.m. Thursday (Peacock) Quad 1 game in the quarterfinals.
Ohio State
17–15, 9–11 Big Ten; NET: 36, BPI: 35; SOR: 51; WAB: 49
The Buckeyes probably played themselves out of the field with a 77–70 loss Wednesday in the first-round of the Big Ten tournament against No. 15 seed Iowa (17–15; 65th in the NET) in a Quad 2 game.
First four out
North Carolina is second on this list.
Boise State
21–9, 14–6 Mountain West; NET: 47; BPI: 53; SOR: 87; WAB: 55
The No. 5-seed Broncos face No. 4-seed San Diego State (21–8; 51st in the NET) at 5:30 p.m. Thursday Quad 2 quarterfinal in the Mountain West tournament in Las Vegas. With a win, Boise State would play a 9:30 p.m. semifinal game against the 3 p.m. Thursday quarterfinal winner. In that game, No. 1-seed New Mexico (25–6; 41 in NET; would be a Quad 1 game) faces the winner of Wednesday’s 2 p.m. first-round game between No. 8 San Jose State (14–18; 51st; Quad 2) and No. 9 Wyoming (12–19; 194; Quad 3).
Texas
18–14, 6–12 SEC; NET: 42; BPI: 36; SOR: 59; WAB: 52
The No. 13-seed Longhorns beat No. 12-seed Vanderbilt (20–12; 43rd in the NET) 79–72 in a Quad 1 first-round SEC tournament game Wednesday. Texas next faces No. 5-seed and 14th ranked Texas A&M (22–9; 17th in the NET) in a Quad 1 second-round game at 3:30 p.m. Thursday. With a win, it would face a 3:30 quarterfinal matchup Friday against No. 4-seed and 8th-ranked Tennessee (25–6; 5th in the NET) — also a Quad 1 game — if the Longhorns get that far.
Colorado State
22–9, 16–4 Mountain West; NET: 54; BPI: 56; SOR: 58; WAB: 55
The No. 2-seed Rams play in a 9 p.m. quarterfinal on Thursday against the winner of the 4:30 first-round game between No. 7-seed Nevada (16–15; 79th in NET; would be a Quad 2 game) and No. 10-seed Fresno State (6–25; 278th in the NET; would be a Quad 4 game.
ACC tournament
Spectrum Center | Charlotte
Tuesday’s first round
No. 15 Pittsburgh 64, No. 10 Stanford 63
No. 11 SMU 86, No. 14 Syracuse 69
No. 13 Wake Forest 95, No. 12 Virginia Tech 89, OT
Wednesday’s second round
No. 7 N.C. State 98, Pittsburgh 88
No. 6 (No. 24 ranked) Louisville 62, SMU 58
No. 8 Florida State 95, No. 9 California 89
No. 5 Clemson 71, Wake Forest 62
Thursday’s quarterfinals
No. 2 (No. 10 ranked) Virginia 81, N.C. State 74
No. 3 Miami 78, Louisville 73
No. 1 (No. 1 ranked) Duke 80, Florida State 79
Clemson 80, No. 4 (No. 19 ranked) North Carolina 79
Friday’s semifinals
Virginia 84, Miami 62
Duke 73, Clemson 61
Saturday’s championship
Duke 74, Virginia 70
Schedule revealed so far
| Date | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) |
|---|---|---|
| October | ||
| 18 | Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis (exhibition) |
| November | ||
| 2 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina |
| 6 | Friday | vs. Wofford |
| 10 | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming |
| 13 | Friday | vs. Georgia |
| 20 | Friday | vs. Marshall |
| 27 | Friday | vs. West Virginia in Charlotte |
| December | ||
| 1 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas |
| 6 | Sunday | vs. Butler |
| 12 | Saturday | at Georgetown |
| 15 | Tuesday (date tentative) | vs. N.C. State in Greensboro |
| 19 | 2:30 Saturday | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York |
| 21 | Monday | vs. The Citadel |
| January | ||
| 30 | Saturday | vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. |
ACC games
Home and away: Duke and Louisville
Home only: California, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, SMU, Stanford and Virginia
Away only: Boston College, Florida State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest
Photo courtesy of the ACC
