Why UNC will, and won’t reach Final Four in our 2024 March Madness predictions

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A year after missing the NCAA Tournament, UNC basketball is a No. 1 seed entering March Madness in 2024.

Despite their loss to NC State in the ACC Tournament championship game, the Tar Heels (27-7) had a resume that helped them snag the No. 1 slot in the West Region.

North Carolina tips things off against No. 16 Howard (18-16) or No. 16 Wagner (16-15) on Thursday (2:45 p.m., CBS) at Spectrum Center in Charlotte.

Coming off an ACC regular-season championship in their third year under head coach Hubert Davis, the Heels will try to avoid becoming the third No. 1 seed to fall to a No. 16 seed. One of those upsets — UMBC’s win against Virginia — happened in Charlotte.

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Here are two reasons why UNC basketball will make the Final Four and two reasons it won’t:

RJ Davis, Armando Bacot have carried UNC basketball to Final Four

The last time RJ Davis and Armando Bacot played in the NCAA Tournament, that duo helped the Tar Heels get to the 2022 NCAA championship game. Davis, the ACC Player of the Year, is an All-American as one of the top guards in the nation. Bacot, who is averaging a double-double, had six double-double performances in March Madness 2022. Both players know what it takes and are capable of carrying UNC to the Final Four.

The Tar Heels have defense, history in their favor

UNC is 16-2 at Spectrum Center, including 5-1 in NCAA Tournament games. In their record 18 appearances as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Tar Heels advanced to the Final Four in 10 of those seasons. In four of UNC’s last six March Madness experiences as a top seed, UNC advanced to the Final Four, twice winning the NCAA title — including 2017 in Phoenix.

As for on-court success, UNC is sixth in defensive efficiency this…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-unc-won-t-reach-032634577.html

Author : The Fayetteville Observer

Publish date : 2024-03-18 03:26:34

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