It’s official: the Tar Heels won’t be participating in March Madness.

The UNC men’s basketball team narrowly missed out on the field of 68 teams for the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, officially missing the field for the first time since 2010 (not counting the 2020 tournament Carolina would have missed). The Tar Heels are the first team since 1985 — when the tournament expanded to 64 teams — to go from being ranked No. 1 in the preseason polls to missing the tournament field.

The selection committee ranked Carolina as one of the First 4 Out, meaning if the Tar Heels choose to participate, they would be a No. 1 seed in the NIT. However, a statement from head coach Hubert Davis confirmed the team would not be participating in the event.

“Although… this season wasn’t what we had hoped for, I want to thank our players and staff for their hard work and love for Carolina Basketball,” Davis’ statement read. “Many factors go into postseason play and we believe now is the time to focus on moving ahead, preparing for next season and the opportunity to again compete for ACC and NCAA championships.”

Ultimately, UNC’s failure to close out games against quality teams was its downfall. Leads in the second half and overtime against NCAA Tournament teams such as Iowa State, Alabama, Pittsburgh (twice), Duke (twice), NC State and Virginia all went up in smoke. It’s fair to say that had any of those results been reversed, Carolina would be included in the field of 68.

 

Featured image via Todd Melet

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