North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament? Not after another wasted chance

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Which NCAA men’s teams to watch on the bubble before March Madness

USAT’s Jordan Mendoza gives his teams to keep an eye on for ‘bubble watch’ as March Madness selection Sunday approaches.

Sports Pulse

There’s a saying by American author William Arthur Ward that says opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long, you miss them.

For much of the season, North Carolina has hit the snooze button when dawn arrived. Despite the several instances of oversleeping, it kept getting chances to see the next sunrise. After beating Wake Forest in the ACC tournament semifinals, the Tar Heels knew another opportunity awaited Friday, facing rival Duke for a third time this season.

Win and an NCAA Tournament bid was on the horizon. Head coach Hubert Davis said his team was excited about the opportunity to face the Blue Devils once more, feeling like they’d be ready.

Instead, it was the same old story for North Carolina. The Blue Devils woke up with a fiery energy and it was far too late by the time the Tar Heels realized they overslept. Duke won 74-71 to advance to the ACC championship game and send North Carolina back home with a grim outlook on its March Madness chances.

Everything heading into Friday indicated it would be the signature night of the season for North Carolina. Not only did it take care of business in the first two games in Charlotte against Notre Dame and Wake Forest, it was facing a Duke team without star freshman Cooper Flagg and defensive specialist Maliq Brown after both suffered injuries against Georgia Tech. A hobbled Blue Devils team couldn’t have come at a better time for North Carolina.

But out of the gate, it was almost as if the national championship-contending Blue Devils were the ones playing like their NCAA Tournament hopes were on the line. They played with a sense of urgency and intensity as if they needed the automatic bid. On the other hand, North Carolina was sleepwalking, almost as if the game didn’t have much significance.

Just look at the end of the…

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Source link : https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2025/03/14/north-carolina-ncaa-tournament-wasted-chance/82422120007/

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Publish date : 2025-03-15 02:19:00

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