UNC basketball bubble watch could come down to one game. A look at Heels’ NCAA resume
Here’s the part where a weakened ACC isn’t doing any favors for North Carolina and its NCAA Tournament positioning. The Tar Heels’ overtime win over Syracuse only served not to drop them, it didn’t improve their status.
That’s not the case in the Big 12 where TCU’s win over Kansas may have just solidified its bid. The Horned Frogs were reeling after losing three of four, but they just picked up wins over Texas Tech and Kansas in the last week.
The Big Ten doesn’t have those problems either, where Rutgers’ win at Indiana was a way for the Scarlet Knights to play their way into the tournament. While the Hoosiers’ home loss in a de facto play-in game adds pressure on their regular season finale at rival Purdue.
Creighton got a chance to prove itself worthy in the Big East with its win over Connecticut to complete the season sweep. The Blue Jays have played without starting point guard Ryan Nembhard the past two games after winning six straight, but still look like a tournament team.
Carolina didn’t have that kind of luxury for most of conference play, but it does have a rich opportunity on Saturday when it travels to Cameron Indoor Stadium to face Duke in the regular season finale and the last home game for Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski. Should Carolina come away with a victory given all the pomp and circumstance surrounding Krzyzewski’s last game, that might be enough to clinch an at-large berth regardless of what happens in Brooklyn at the ACC tournament.
The Heels did ensure a top four finish in the ACC standings with their win over the Orange and earned a coveted double bye in the ACC tournament as a result. Short of a win on Saturday, they’ll likely need to win one game in Brooklyn just to feel at ease on Selection Sunday.
Here’s how the Heels compare to other bubble teams:
UNC (22-8)
NET: 40
Best wins: Michigan, at Virginia Tech
Bad losses: Pittsburgh
Current trend: Won last four
Remaining: at Duke
San Diego State (19-7)
NET: 26
Best wins: St. Mary’s, Colorado State, Wyoming
Bad losses: none
Current trend: Won seven of last eight
Remaining: vs. Fresno State, at Nevada
San Francisco (23-8)
NET: 27
Best wins: Davidson, BYU
Bad losses: Portland
Current trend: Won four of last six
Remaining: WCC tournament
Loyola, Chicago (22-7)
NET: 31
Best wins: San Francisco, at Missouri State, at Vanderbilt
Bad losses: vs Drake
Current trend: Won four of last six
Remaining: vs Bradley in Missouri Valley tournament
Michigan (16-12)
NET: 32
Best wins: Purdue, Iowa, San Diego St., Michigan State
Bad losses: Minnesota
Current trend: Won three of last five.
Remaining: vs. Iowa, at Ohio State
Memphis (17-9)
NET: 41
Best wins: Alabama, Virginia Tech
Bad losses: at Georgia, at East Carolina
Current trend: Won eight of last nine
Remaining: at South Florida, vs. Houston
Indiana (18-11)
NET: 43
Best wins: Notre Dame, Purdue, Ohio State
Bad losses: Penn State
Current trend: Lost six of last eight.
Remaining: at Purdue
TCU (19-9)
NET: 46
Best wins: Iowa State, LSU, Texas Tech, Kansas
Bad losses: None
Current trend: Won three of last four
Remaining: at Kansas, at West Virginia
SMU (20-7)
NET: 50
Best wins: Houston, Memphis (twice), Dayton
Bad losses: Loyola Marymount, Missouri
Current trend: Won four of last six
Remaining: vs. Cincinnati, vs. Tulane
VCU (21-7)
NET: 49
Best wins: at Davidson, Syracuse, at Vanderbilt
Bad losses: Wagner
Current trend: Won eight consecutive games
Remaining: at St. Louis
Florida (19-11)
NET: 51
Best wins: Auburn, Ohio State
Bad losses: Texas Southern, Ole Miss
Current trend: Won three of last four
Remaining: vs Kentucky
BYU (21-9)
NET: 52
Best wins: San Diego State, Oregon, San Francisco
Bad losses: Pacific
Current trend: Won four of last five
Remaining: West Coast Conference tournament
Oregon (17-11)
NET: 58
Best wins: SMU, UCLA (twice), USC
Bad losses: California, Arizona State (twice)
Current trend: Lost three of last four.
Remaining: at Washington, at Washington State
Creighton (20-9)
Net: 66
Best wins: UConn (twice), Villanova
Bad losses: Butler, Arizona State
Current trend: Won seven of last eight
Remaining: vs. Seton Hall
Rutgers (17-12)
NET: 81
Best wins: Purdue, Ohio State, Illinois, Wisconsin
Bad losses: Lafayette, UMass
Current trend: Lost three of last four
Remaining: vs. Penn State