North Carolina spent last season becoming the first preseason No. 1 in the history of the AP Top 25 poll to miss the NCAA Tournament. It was rough. So third-year coach Hubert Davis needed a nice bounce-back year as much as anybody to, among other things, alleviate concerns from an intense fanbase.
As you've probably heard, he's having it.
And now his Tar Heels are just one more victory away, I think, from joining Purdue, UConn and Houston as No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament thanks to a combination of Tennessee falling to Mississippi State 73-56 in Friday's quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament and North Carolina beating Pitt 72-65 in Friday's semifinals of the ACC Tournament. Those results kept UNC at No. 4 in Saturday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, and a win over NC State in Saturday night's title game of the ACC Tournament should solidify the Tar Heels as the No. 1 seed in the West when Adam Zucker unveils the 68-team bracket Sunday on CBS.
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"[I'm] just super-excited to get a chance to play in the championship," said UNC big Armando Bacot, who has had quite the roller coaster of a career. He's played five seasons at UNC -- two for Roy Williams, three for Davis. Two seasons ago, he made the title game of the NCAA Tournament. Last season, he missed the NCAA Tournament after being the face of the preseason No. 1 team. And now, this season, he's on the verge of helping North Carolina secure a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the 18th time in history.
But does UNC even want the No. 1 seed out West?
That's a reasonable question to ask -- but I think the answer is yes. If the options are needing to get through UConn in the East, Houston in the South or Arizona in the West, I'd rather try Arizona in the West, if only because the Wildcats have looked much more beatable all season than the other two, evidence being that Arizona has five more losses than the other two. So if I'm UNC, I want to beat an in-state rival on Saturday, secure a No. 1 seed on Sunday, spend next week in Charlotte and the following in Los Angeles. Because if North Carolina's goal is to get to a second Final Four in a three-year span, it's probably better to be the No. 1 seed in the West than it is to be the No. 2 seed anywhere else, even if a No. 2 seed anywhere else would keep the Tar Heels closer to home.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Zach Edey finished with 29 points and 12 rebounds in Friday's 67-62 win over Michigan State. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday against Wisconsin. | -- | 34-5 |
| 2 |  | Tristen Newton finished with 25 points and six rebounds in Friday's 95-90 win over St. John's. The Huskies' next game is Saturday against Marquette. | -- | 37-3 |
| 3 |  | L.J. Cryer finished with 20 points and two rebounds in Friday's 82-59 win over Texas Tech. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Iowa State. | -- | 32-5 |
| 4 |  | RJ Davis finished with 25 points and three rebounds in Friday's 72-65 win over Pitt. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday against NC State. | -- | 29-8 |
| 5 |  | Keshon Gilbert finished with 20 points and seven assists in Friday's 76-62 win over Baylor. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday against Houston. | 1 | 29-8 |
| 6 |  | Kam Jones finished with 23 points and five assists in Friday's 79-68 win over Providence. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday against UConn. | 3 | 27-10 |
| 7 |  | Dalton Knecht was 4 of 17 from the field in Friday's 73-56 loss to Mississippi State. The Vols' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 2 | 27-9 |
| 8 |  | Caleb Love was 2 of 11 from the field in Friday's 67-59 loss to Oregon. The Wildcats' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 1 | 27-9 |
| 9 |  | JaKobe Walter was 1 of 8 from the field in Friday's 76-62 loss to Iowa State. The Bears' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 1 | 24-11 |
| 10 |  | Steven Ashworth was 3 of 13 from the field in Thursday's 78-73 loss to Providence. The Bluejays' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 25-10 |
| 11 |  | Johni Broome finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's 86-55 win over South Carolina. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Mississippi State. | 1 | 27-8 |
| 12 |  | Terrence Shannon Jr. finished with 28 points and two steals in Friday's 77-74 win over Ohio State. The Illini's next game is Saturday against Nebraska. | 1 | 29-9 |
| 13 |  | Johnny Furphy was 1 of 8 from the field in Wednesday's 72-52 loss to Cincinnati. The Jayhawks' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 2 | 23-11 |
| 14 |  | Darius Brown was 3 of 11 from the field in Friday's 86-70 loss to San Diego State. The Aggies' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 3 | 28-7 |
| 15 |  | Jeremy Roach was 1 of 6 from the field in Thursday's 74-69 loss to NC State. The Blue Devils' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 1 | 27-9 |
| 16 |  | Justin Edwards was 1 of 6 from the field in Friday's 97-87 loss to Texas A&M. The Wildcats' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 2 | 23-10 |
| 17 |  | Dallin Hall was 0 of 6 from the field in Thursday's 81-67 loss to Texas Tech. The Cougars' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 3 | 23-11 |
| 18 |  | Jaedon LeDee finished with 22 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 86-70 win over Utah State. The Aztecs' next game is Saturday against New Mexico. | 4 | 26-11 |
| 19 |  | AJ Storr finished with 30 points and six rebounds in Friday's 70-61 win over Northwestern. The Badgers' next game is Saturday against Purdue. | 4 | 22-14 |
| 20 |  | Collin Murray-Boyles was 1 of 9 from the field in Friday's 86-55 loss to Auburn. The Gamecocks' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 3 | 26-8 |
| 21 |  | Pop Isaacs was 2 of 13 from the field in Friday's 82-59 loss to Houston. The Red Raiders' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 3 | 23-11 |
| 22 |  | Alabama allowed Florida to shoot 50.8% from the field in Friday's 102-88 loss to the Gators. The Crimson Tide's next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 3 | 25-12 |
| 23 |  | Andrej Jakimovski was 1 of 7 from the field in Friday's 58-52 loss to Colorado. The Cougars' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 2 | 25-10 |
| 24 |  | Aidan Mahaney finished with 23 points and two rebounds in Tuesday's 69-60 win over Gonzaga. The Gaels' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 26-8 |
| 25 |  | Gonzaga only got four points from its bench in Wednesday's 69-60 loss to Saint Mary's. The Zags' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 27-8 |
| 26 |  | Nevada allowed Colorado State to shoot 50% from the field in Thursday's 85-78 loss to the Rams. The Wolf Pack's next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 26-8 |
