The path to North Carolina’s seventh NCAA men’s basketball title would take the Tar Heels from the Queen City to the City of Angels and, they hope, culminate in the Valley of the Sun. The No. 4-ranked Tar Heels (27–7) are the No. 1 seed in the West Regional, to be played at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles (home of the NBA’s Lakers and Clippers and the NHL’s Kings). It’s the NCAA-high 18th time that UNC has been a No. 1 seed since seeding began in 1979, one season after missing the tournament.

WASHINGTON — Was No. 4 Carolina’s 84–76 loss to N.C. State in the ACC tournament championship game Saturday night enough to drop the Tar Heels from the No. 1 seed line where they were projected before the game?

WASHINGTON — On the fifth day, N.C. State had plenty of magic left, and an out-of-sync Carolina team couldn’t do anything to stop it. The No. 10-seed Wolfpack became the first ACC champion in league history to win five tournament games and the lowest seed to win it, knocking off No. 4-ranked North Carolina 84–76 Saturday at Capital One Arena.

Conference tournaments ended frustratingly for several former Tar Heels, including Puff Johnson missing a potential game-winning 3-point attempt at the buzzer. In addition, Caleb Love’s No. 6 Arizona team, Justin McKoy’s Hawaii team and Kerwin Walton’s No. 25 Texas Tech team all lost Friday in the semifinals of their league tournaments.

WASHINGTON — No. 4 North Carolina’s eighth consecutive win and ninth Quad 1 victory Friday night all but assured that the Tar Heels will be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Losses by No. 5 Tennessee (73–56 to Mississippi State in the SEC tournament) and No. 6 Arizona (67–59 to Oregon in the Pac-12 tournament), UNC’s competition for the fourth No. 1 seed, pretty much cemented that outcome.

WASHINGTON — As Tyler Nickel walked from the postgame press conference to the Virginia Tech locker room, he greeted some Carolina friends. It was a brief and jovial exchange in the hallway at Capital One Arena with assistant coach Marcus Paige and director of operations Eric Hoots. Nickel hoped to spend much more time with them and his other UNC friends on Thursday in the quarterfinals.

WASHINGTON — Armando Bacot a three- and-D guy? The first part is debatable but there’s no doubting the last part. After making the ACC’s All-Defensive Team and sinking a pair of 3-pointers on senior night, he’s telling his teammates and the coaches that he is.

For the first time in 26 years and the fifth time in school history, the ACC’s player and coach of the year are Tar Heels. RJ Davis is the ACC Player of the Year and Hubert Davis is the ACC Coach of the Year, with the league announcing postseason awards on Monday. Armando Bacot made All-ACC second team and Harrison Ingram earned third-team honors.