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Couldn’t you FEEL Bubba Cunningham’s sigh of relief Tuesday night in Dayton?
And somewhere at the Governor’s Mansion in Charleston, West Virginia, Patrick Morrisey was tearing up a legal complaint to the NCAA tournament for not inviting his state university, demanding that Cunningham give up the bonus that is written into his contract and most of the Power 5 ADs.
That’s what happens when emotions run so raw in the games young people play with so much money at stake. CBS reporter John Rothstein was one of the announcers at the First Four where he had lambasted the Tar Heels before they obliterated the best defensive team in the country in a play-in game for the Big Dance.
And Rothstein had the dubious distinction of congratulating Hubert Davis after his motivated team rolled to a 95-68 victory over San Diego State. Before the game, Rothstein called Carolina’s selection as the last team into the NCAA tournament “one of the biggest miscarriages of justice” in the history of college basketball. Morrisey had almost demanded that Bubba give back the substantial bonus that comes with his basketball team reaching the post-season.
The entire North Carolina team wanted in on the postgame interview 🤣 pic.twitter.com/odpkUB7IhK
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 19, 2025
Despite UNC’s 1-12 record against Quad 1 teams, several analysts have since examined all the metrics used by the selection committee chaired by Cunningham and concluded that the Tar Heels were actually the best team of the “Last Four In” the 2025 tourney.
If nothing else, the Heels used all the noise that Hubert Davis told them to ignore to play their best game of the season against a good opponent, with R.J. Davis showing off his ACC Player of the Year form from a year ago.
Most of the media had jumped on the bandwagon, except for Mark Packer of the ACC Network who earlier Tuesday offered tissues “for all the crying, all the whining, all the bitching, all the moaning.” He suggested eye wipes for national sportscasters like Joe Lunardi, Steven A. Smith, Jerry Palm and Rothstein, as Packer often does for controversies blown out of control.
Any questions? pic.twitter.com/iAIbb4N0Lr
— Mark Packer (@MarkPacker) March 19, 2025
Ahead of the Aztecs from the Mountain West Conference 13-11 early in the game, Carolina grew its lead to 40 midway through the second half before Hubert emptied his bench in preparation for the round of 64 that begins Friday afternoon in Milwaukee against Ole Miss of the celebrated SEC.
It was the spectacular combination of offense and defense for the Heels, who were shooting almost 60 percent before Hubert put in the reserves. They were led by R.J.’s 26 points on 8 of 12 overall and 6-for-6 from the 3-point line. Elliot Cadeau had a mighty night with 12 assists and 3 steals. Seth Trimble scored a stunning 16 points. Ven-Allen Lubin added 12 and Jae’Lyn Withers, goat of the Duke game, had a10-10 double double.
How much did all the noise help the Tar Heels and hurt the haters’ credibility? If Carolina makes a run, all parties will be forgiven.
Featured image via Mark Packer on X.
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
Ha! Beating San Diego St does nothing to validate the selection. Good grief. Just like not facing NCAA sanctions for academic fraud did nothing to validate the behavior. The university even admitted it. There are many, many teams who were left out of the tourney that would have hammered San Diego State on Tuesday night.