By Brian Murphy, WRAL

North Carolina’s season will continue in the NCAA Tournament.

Barely.

The Tar Heels (22-13) earned the final at-large spot in the 68-team field when it was announced Sunday evening. North Carolina was in jeopardy of missing the tournament for the second time in three seasons.

UNC plays San Diego State from the Mountain West Conference in the First Four in Dayton on Tuesday night (approx. 9:10 p.m., TruTV). Both are No. 11 seeds in the South Region. The winner will play No. 6 seed Ole Miss in the first round on Friday in Milwaukee.

The No. 1 seed in the South is Auburn, the No. 1 seed overall.

North Carolina athletics director Bubba Cunningham is the chairman of the tournament selection committee. He was not allowed in the room when the Tar Heels are discussed.

“All the policies and procedures were followed,” Cunningham told CBS during an interview Sunday night.

Selection Sunday vibes 🕺 pic.twitter.com/pu0My0TO4p

— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 17, 2025

North Carolina has won eight of its last 10 games with both losses to Duke, but the Tar Heels were 1-12 in Quad 1 games. Quad 1 games are games against the better teams in Division I based on the NCAA Evaluation Tool, or NET.

The Tar Heels played one of the top nonconfererence schedules in the nation. They lost to Duke (No. 1 in NET) three times and also lost to Auburn (No. 2), Florida (No. 4), Alabama (No. 6), Michigan State (No. 11), Kentucky (No. 15), Kansas (No. 20), Clemson (No. 22) and Louisville (No. 23). The lone victory came against UCLA (No. 27).

But the Tar Heels ranked higher in other metrics, including “wins above bubble,” or WAB.

“When you look at Carolina’s full body of work, and obviously the committee spent a lot of time looking at Quad 1 and certainly recognized the record in Quad 1,” said Keith Gill, the vice chairman of the selection committee.

“But also when look at Quad 2, they’re 8-0 in Quad 2. In Quad 1, they were 1-12, but 8-0 in Quad 2. They had a really strong strength of record. They had a strong NET. They also had a strong WAB. And when you take all those things into consideration, the committee just felt they should earn that last spot over some of the other teams.”

UNC, San Diego State, Xavier and Texas were the last four at-large teams in the field. The lack of upsets in conference tournaments across the country helped UNC make the field. Had UAB upset Memphis in the American Athletic Conference championship game, played Sunday afternoon, the Tar Heels would have been bounced.

“The hardest part of being on the committee is having to draw that line. But with only one real upset this year, there were an awful lot of teams on the bubble that got in,” Cunningham said.

Michigan State is the No. 2 seed in the South and Iowa State is the No. 3 seed. The Cyclones will be without starter Keshon Gilbert for the tournament.

The Tar Heels won two games in the ACC Tournament in Charlotte, but fell to top-seeded Duke in the semifinals, leaving their tournament hopes in limbo.

North Carolina players expressed confidence that they would make the tournament after Friday’s loss to Duke. A lane violation on a made free throw in the final seconds cost UNC in the 74-71 loss to No. 1 Duke.

“We are a tournament team,” guard RJ Davis said after the game. “I think if you look at the trajectory of our whole season, the way we dealt with adversity, perseverance, and especially these last couple of weeks, we overcame all of that.

“You couldn’t ask for a better team than that, that goes through that type of adversity, goes through that type of criticism and still perseveres through it all and comes out on top. I think that’s a tournament team for you right there, because that’s what March is about.”

Said Seth Trimble: “Without a doubt, 100 percent. No other thought in my mind. We’re a tournament team. I believe it. The whole team believes it. The whole coaching staff believes it.”

The Tar Heels have been on the bubble for more than a month, needing to avoid any hiccups down the stretch and, desperately, seeking a signature victory.

“For our guys to stay focused on what is real, and that was being the best team that we could become, continue to prepare, practice and play,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said after the loss to Duke. “Whomever we’re playing, keep our eyes focused on the competition right in front of us and be the best that we can be. And for a month and a half, we basically played must-win games. In that situation, our team played the best. That’s pretty cool from a bunch of kids.”

Source: wralsportsfan.com