Here is the honest truth. I was not convinced UNC was getting in and I actually had a post written and ready to go which included a You Tube video of the scene where Old Yeller gets shot.Turns out the NIT was not the mother from Old Yeller.
So, the NIT Selection Committee decides to put the Heels in as the #4 seed which will have them hosting a first round game. The opponent will be William & Mary. If you are keeping score at home, Bill & Mary knocked off both Maryland and Wake Forest earlier this season which means they are a good team. Also of note: W&M is coached by former Tar Heel walk-on Tony Shaver who played for Dean Smith during the mid-70s.
UNC will play the Tribe on Tuesday night at 9:30 PM in Carmichael Auditorium(I know, it is Arena now. I refuse to conform darn it!). ESPN will televise the game.
Now, I realize this is not something many UNC fans wanted. Well, it is what it is. The only thing left to do now is win the darn thing.
Here is UNC’s bracket:
#1 Mississippi St vs #8 Jackson St.
#4 UNC vs #5 William & Mary
#3 South Florida vs #6 NC State
#2 UAB vs #7 Coastal Carolina
The rest of the bracket can be found here.
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I’m pumped. Let’s get this thing rolling and go out on a good note going into next year.
we have the worst record in the NIT.
wooooohooooooooooo!!
THF,
The fact that UNC was selected to the NIT worries me. Does that mean UNC is considered one of the Top 96 teams in the country? If the tourney was expanded to 96 for this season, does that mean UNC is tourney bound despite having an abomination of a season. I have feeling UNC was included for the purpose of ratings. I could be wrong though.
At least the Heels accomplished two things this season. They finished out of the 12th spot of the ACC standings and they won the school’s 2000th game (only took 30 games to win 16).
^and we have a remote chance of keeping Kansas’ lead over us for 2nd limited.
Re: THF Twitter
No, it’s not cynical to assume the NIT rigged it so that UNC gets a home game. The NIT does a good job in ensuring that teams who won their league but lost in their tourney get an automatic bid. Beyond that, it’s about matchups and money (so in that regard, Faustus is correct).
Too bad the NIT doesn’t have a sense of humor to somehow match up UNC and Arizona State or, in a really funny one, NCSU and ASU.
^I thought the NCAAs matchup of Cuse and UVm was pretty funny, too. That is the equivalent of giving UNC Weber St as a 16-seed.
BTW, Bilas picked Cornell to beat UK in the Sweet 16! Don’t get me wrong, Cornell is a very good team and their 12-seed is a complete joke (probably should be a 9 seed), but that takes some guts to pick…
Rams Club members may request tickets on Monday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. either through an online application on their Rams Club account or over the phone at 800-722-4335. Rams Club members will be notified of what tickets they receive by 8 p.m. on Monday. Any leftover tickets will go on sale to the general public on Tuesday, March 16th, at 10 a.m. Tickets are $40.
um…yeah.
a late weekday game. will that help the general public get in?
$40 is a bit much, when it appears thats the uniform price. or am i wrong?
This will be a very interesting venue for the team. Have they ever practiced in Carmichael? Surely they’ll get to practice there tomorrow. Someone said here earlier today, I think it was UNCsteph, that there was word the Heels were practicing , which seemed an indication they would be getting an invitation. Maybe just to be ready in case…….I wonder if they are notified ahead of the announcement program or have to wait like everyone else.
I will say this for Bilas, at least he spiced his picks up. I think most of those guys went chalk in the Final Four which is a complete contradiction to what they have been saying all season. All season it has been: “Well no one really stands out, there is so much parity.” However when it is time to put that on the line they go the other way and say all four #1 seeds can get it done. Did any of these guys watch the conference tournaments this past weekend?
“Someone said here earlier today, I think it was UNCsteph, that there was word the Heels were practicing , which seemed an indication they would be getting an invitation. Maybe just to be ready in case……..I wonder if they are notified ahead of the announcement program or have to wait like everyone else.”
They did not know until pretty close to the announcement according to a source. When they practiced today they had no idea.
I am very excited about this. I will not be able to attend the game but I will be watching.
Didn’t we use to play W&M many years ago pretty regularly? It seems like I remember listening to Woody call some games against them, but heck my memory is not as good as it used to be.
Maybe they will go far in the NIT. Carmichael is a great place to play. Hopefully the AUDITORIUM will be full of partisan fans.
But it will be an away venue for Will Graves re shooting.
While they may not have known ahead of time whether or not they were actually in the tournament, if you want to host a game you do have to submit a bid. Seeing as how you have as little as 48 hours to prep for hosting a game, I’ll bet there was at least an inkling of the possibility.
“Now, I realize this is not something many UNC fans wanted. Well, it is what it is. The only thing left to do now is win the darn thing.”
Nailed it.
No more talk, no fans-let-us-down, no excuses, no tweets, no press conferences. Just go do it. You have been given a chance you didn’t do a whole lot to earn. Now buck it up and make the most of it.
^or buy a rug.
^If they make me buy another rug I’m going to throttle the lot of them. I mean, I’m not poor, but there are limits…….
THB:
This is Carolina’s sixth NIT appearance and first since 2003. UNC also played in the event in 1970, 1971, 1973 and 1974, winning the NIT title in 1971.
This will be Carolina’s first official game in Carmichael since January 4, 1986, a 90-79 win over NC State. William and Mary was UNC’s opponent in the first-ever game played in Carmichael on December 4, 1965.
Carolina is 17-3 all-time against the Tribe. This is the first meeting between the two schools since January 2, 2005, a 105-66 win for the Tar Heels.
“I am pleased that the committee has invited us to play in the NIT,” says head coach Roy Williams. “Of course we would have liked to have played better this year and be in the NCAA field, but we did not. But we are happy to still be playing basketball and I hope we will play well in the NIT.”
***
i was at that last game at Carmichael. miss that place.
C.Michael…The only thing I heard Bilas say was that Cornell could be a tough match up for UK. I never heard him pick them to win.
Bilas had them in his Elite Eight
Thanks for the info HTTE.
Sorry, must have missed that part.
Sounds to me like Bilas must have been just about as drunk as whoever decided that Wake should be friggin 9 seed, or even IN the tournament for that matter.
When can we know whether this is televised or not? Will it be on radio as well?
Thanks!!!
Also, I think Duke gets a paper tiger in Perdue. Not to mention it seems as if they have played them a couple of times in the past 3 years.
That Bilas is onto something! Given their multiple looks on offense and defense, their strong D and ability to run on the offense, their balanced at positions, their success against teams like Kansas, and especially given their experience (lots of upperclassmen), Cornell can be that dark horse in the tourney and could definitely give Kentucky fits. I think ther biggest test would actually be Temple. Donahue’s mentor coaches the Owls so they will both know what’s coming.
Oh yeah, for full disclosure, I’m a Cornell alum.
Sorry THF. I just saw where you mentioned it being televised on ESPN. Thanks!!!
“If you are keeping score at home, Bill & Mary knocked off both Maryland and Wake Forest earlier this season which means they are a good team.”
I agree those were good wins, and against tougher competition in the early part of the season which helped them have a Non-Conf. SOS of #17, and probably went a good ways to helping them achieve their current #58 RPI ranking.
Since Jan.1, however, in their 21 games, the average RPI of all the teams they have played is 158, and they have only one win against a team with an RPI higher than 75. They’ve also had 3 losses against teams with an RPI lower than 237, while compiling an overall SOS of #110.
So even though their post-Jan. 1 record is 13-8 (UNC’s is 5-13), it has been against much weaker competition (CAA is #12 ranked conf.) than UNC plays. That doesn’t mean they won’t give us a good game, or that they don’t have some good players, but I don’t know if we could necessarily call them a good team.
FWIW, Pomeroy has UNC plus 9.
Why Carmichael? Anyone know why the NIT game is not being played at the Smith Center?
^ i know ken pom obviously but where do u see unc+9?
I like Bilas. I think he’s honest, well-informed, and somewhat pro-Carolina. He was one of the few who went out of his way last year to note that Hansbrough was quite skilled, not just strong and determined.
When he was playing for Dook, Bilas was a tough guy. His job was not to score, and he didn’t score all that much. But he cleared out. Boy do I wish we’d had something like that on our team this year.
I like Bilas, too. And I have to admit, I would take enormous pleasure watching Cornell beat UK if that were to happen!
NINE THIRTY PM!?! WTF!?!
So we are in the NIT. Might as well win as many as we can and maybe reach 20 total wins for the season. GO HEELS!!
And since we are not in the NCAA’s I will pull for Dook, Kentucky and Wake(who should be one and done anyway) to lose as early as possible.
I will become a seasonable fan of Cornell and all other teams seeded 8 or lower. At least now I have some reasons to watch many of the NCAA games this year. Be well.
“^ i know ken pom obviously but where do u see unc+9?”
I realize my original choice of words means a different thing, in betting terms. I should have said Pomeroy has UNC winning by 9.
It’s on the “schedule page”, gotten to by clicking the teams’ name, where he gives his percentage chance of the team winning the next game on its schedule, and his predicted score. (You probably already knew that.)
In this case, it’s 83% and a 72 to 63 win. Hope he’s right
I was actually hoping the Heels would not get a bid so this season would just end. I don’t see them winning this, but who knows. I just want to forget about this season.
And as far as Duke goes, they are all smoke and mirrors. They lost everytime they played anyone good outside the ACC. They barely score 60 on ACC teams that are terrible. They will get killed by someone in the NCAA tourney.
UNC is trying harder this year with ticket sales. I just noticed that the online site is going to offer away game tickets via the website for football games…enter the modern age. Now if we could just destroy the official website and start over.
If you struggling to order tickets for the NIT and you are a rams club member but the ticket center doesn’t show an NIT package…go to the Rams club website and click through their link to the ticket center. Suddenly when you login there’s the NIT ticket package. Makes me wonder if the application is just out there for everyone and hidden from view….
$40 seems like a lot of money for an NIT game after the ACC tournament debacle with $10 tickets. Still based on what I am reading I think we’ll have open seats and anyone that goes will get good seats.
$40 is a lot to ask of a “spoiled” fan base to watch an “only human” basketball team in an NIT game. They should be paying us $40 to watch this train wreck. IF (that’s a big IF) Carolina does squeak by Bill & Mary, Mississippi St will be waiting to flog them in Starkville, but don’t worry I’m sure LDII has a litany of excuses ready to roll after an NIT blowout.
Nice bracket the committee gave Duke, I guess seeding Duke with a bye straight to Indianapolis wasn’t allowed. How does a team that is not the #1 overall seed, gets 2 and 3 seeds in its region that did not win conference championships of any kind (Regular Season or Tournament) and a 4 seed that is missing its best player. WOW. Too bad Duke is too much of a paper tiger to take advantage of it, wouldn’t be surprised if Duke loses this weekend in Jax, FL.
rathskellar68,
Bilas was also the star of the movie, “I Come in Peace.” That has to be worth something……
Seriously take a look at Duke’s bracket, I posted this on THEE blog too, how is this not one of the easiest paths to the FF ever:
Midwest
Kansas #1 (#1 overall) (regular season & Tournament champs)
OSU #2 (regular season & tournament champs)
G’Town #3
Maryland #4 (regular season champs)
MSU #5 (tied regular season champs)
East
Kentucky #1 (#2 overall) (regular season & tournament champs)
WVU #2 (tournament champs)
New Mexico #3 (regular season champs)
Wisconsin #4
Temple #5 (regular season and tournament champs)
South
Duke #1 (#3 overall) (regular season & tournament champs)
Nova #2
Baylor #3
Purdue #4 (tied regular season champ)
Texas A&M #5
West
Syracuse #1 (#4 overall) (regular season champ)
Kansas St #2
Pitt #3
Vandy #4
Butler #5 (regular season and conference champs)
How do the top 2 overall seeds end up with the toughest brackets? The 2 and 3 seeds in Duke’s region did not win the regular season or tournament titles for its conference and the 4 seed lost its best player for the season. Why didn’t the committee just give Duke a bye to Indianapolis? The 5th seeds in Kansas and Kentucky’s bracket (Michigan St and Temple) also tied for a regular season titles in their conferences and at least the 5th seed in Syracuse’s bracket won a regular and tournament title for its conference (Butler). You have to go all the way down to the 8th seed before you find a team in Duke’s bracket that won either a regular season or conference title and that was the PAC 10 champion Cal. Duke might have gotten the easiest bracket in the history of the NCAAT.
^couldnt agree more.
they dont even follow their own rules. the HEAD of the committee is on tv saying that WV was in the mix for a #1.
so the #5 overall is in the #2′s bracket? a team that lost 5 of its last 7 is dook’s #2? wow. not even trying there.
dook arguably shouldnt even be the #4 overall, and yet theyre the #3.
what changes by putting WV in dook’s bracket, and Nova up in Ky’s?
well, i’ll tell ya.
Marquette is the 6 in Ky’s bracket, and theyre breaking their rule about same-conference teams playing til the regional finals. Nova and Marquette played 3 times in the year, WV and Marq played once.
Solution? take Notre Dame, also a 6, up to Ky’s bracket with Nova, bring down Marq and WV, and its exactly the same as it is now.
the best part of this is the nationwide disgust at dook getting the path they have. the boards are full of dook hate. something i can definitely get behind.
^Don’t you guys remember what Nova did to Duke last year? Wouldn’t it be neat to see former Dookie Taylor King getting revenge against Coach K? I think Nova is a greater match up problem for Duke than West Virginia.
On paper, Duke’s bracket is definitely the easiest, but, there are two potential match-ups that could be bad news for Duke: L’ville and ‘Nova. Now, L’ville could easily spit the bit against Cal, but if they do come to play, I would not be at all surprised to see them beat Duke; I do think the winner of the 1 vs 8/9 came walks into the Elite 8. I think Nova has a pretty light path to the Elite 8, as well, so I honestly don’t see Duke getting to the Final 4 unless something weird happens to Nova.
Edit: Faustus beat me to the punch! Brilliant minds, eh??
^i’m not sure Nova is as good as they were last year.
also, the most important thing after UNC getting IN to the NCAAT is always dook getting OUT.
they get to add to their #1 seed tally, which i hate, and didnt need to happen.
and i want them losing as soon as possible. not getting to the regional final and hoping Nova is there and able to beat them. or Baylor. i dont want them getting to the FF and losing, i dont want them getting to the FF at all.
“On paper, Duke’s bracket is definitely the easiest,”
That’s my point how does the committee make that type of error when simply swapping WVU and Nova would at least squash some of that debate “on paper”. And Nova is not even close to being as good as they were last year when they were a #3 seed. Or swap Purdue and Michigan St, a healthy Michigan St team is more suited for a 4 seed than a Purdue team missing its best player. Even Dukes 5 seed Texas A&M is the weakest of the 5 seeds.
Here is how a rank the top 8 seeds in each region, teams in Duke’s region are in CAPS:
1 – Kansas, Kentucky, DUKE, Syracuse
2 – Ohio St, West Virginia, Kansas St, VILLANOVA
3 – Georgetown, Pittsburgh, New Mexico, BAYLOR
4 – Maryland, Wisconsin, Vandy, PURDUE
5 – Michigan St., Butler, Temple, TEXAS A&M
6 – Tennessee, Marquette, Xavier, NOTRE DAME
7 – Brigham Young, Oklahoma St, RICHMOND, Clemson
8 – Gonzaga, CAL, Texas, Unlv
Someone please explain to me how this fits on the so called “S Curve”. Duke has zero teams at full strength that won either their regular season or conference tournaments until the 8 seed in their region and all of the higher seeds in Duke’s region would be considered the weakest or next to weakest of comparable seeds in all other regions. Yes on paper Purdue’s body of work looks like a really strong 4 seed until you realize they do not have their best player and without Hummel they just got flogged by Minnesota in the tournament for the conference that can’t count. This makes Duke’s 1988 and 1989 cake walks to the final four look tough by comparison.
the top team overall, Kansas, got a bracket without a single bubble team. uh…huh?
Kansas and UK should have had their #2s swapped with the other regions. There is no way the top two seeds should play teams that were being considered as possible #1 seeds. That would have balanced out the top line a little more.
If I were UK I would pissed to see Texas as the freaking #8. In December we thought we might see UT-UK but in the Final Four. Texas is still plenty dangerous though I don’t think their guards can hold Wall.
If Duke fails to make the the Final Four this year, that will make 5 of the last 7 times they have missed while being a #1 seed, and particulary embarrassing considering the seemingly easy bracket. (By contrast, UNC has gone to the Final Four 5 of its last 6 times as a #1 seed.)
Also, if the good side of Louisville’s split personality shows up, it could be all over in the second round.
^^100% agreed. If you would have asked me to pick my FF before the brackets came out I would have said KU, OSU, WVU, and UK. Now I have no idea how to pick it.
The 2-seeds seem really dangerous this year. Reminds me of 1995 when UNC and Arkansas both made the FF as 2-seeds, and UMass and UConn both could have.
UNC plays William and Mary in the NIT. I’m an alumnus of both schools. BBA from W&M & MBA from UNC. Attended a game on 12/7/77. UNC was the #2 team in the Nation on that day. Being from NC, I told everybody that the Heels would cream the Tribe. W&M had a solid team that year. They would go 16-10. There was a spirit running through “The Hall” that night that I will always remember. It was one of the first times that I witnessed how a team could overachieve, if they were united as one. William and Mary hoopers were united that night, because their team captain, John Kratzer was battling cancer. Kratzer’s nickname was Kraze. His teammates had not seen him before that night because he was undergoing chemotherapy treatments in Atlanta.
“His teammates didn’t see him again until the night of Dec. 7, 1977, when William and Mary hosted second-ranked North Carolina. Kraze returned to Williamsburg either that day or the night before, nobody can remember for sure which. They do remember this: He was a big part of what happened.”
“William and Mary stunned the college basketball world, if only for a night, with a 78-75 win. UNC coach Dean Smith later told reporters he knew his team was in trouble when Kratzer arrived to a thunderous, five-minute ovation from the sold-out crowd – that even had some of his own players tearing up.”
“It was unbelievable,” Weslee Lynch said. “Un-be-lievable.”
“When I walked downstairs and got to our locker room, the entire team had John surrounded and they were just hugging him,” said Bruce Parkhill, then in his first season as W&M’s head coach. “Looking at the smile on his face … I’ll never forget that. That’s my fondest memory of that game.”
I also will never forget that game. Here’s an article from the Daily Press that commemorates Kratzer’s legacy: http://cli.gs/EVamsL Here’s to you Kraze – Thinking of you as the Tribe meets the Heels again. May your spirit endure with those who knew you and know about you.
THF – Since I hate KY and Barnes at Texas I’m good with that bracket. It would be nice for Duke to meet someone a little stronger in their bracket.
Heel to the End – Your Duke hate is commendable and I agree.
tarheelblue.com is reporting that tickets are now $20 due to the late game time.
i had a feeling the late hour was going to be too much for some of the…well…older Rams Club members.
how many tickets will be available by tomorrow tho?
“late game time” also known as “what were we thinking trying to charge $40 for this garbage”…………
“how many tickets will be available by tomorrow tho?”
me thinks alot considering they cut the price by half after only a couple hours making available to the rams club…..
My first thought was: “I don’t want to pay $40 for what could be a loss to freaking W&M”
It was bad form. It made them look greedy. Honestly they should see how many students they can get in there and make it more like Hansbrough Indoor Stadium. Students will bring the noise.
^PR out of Chapel Hill this year has been as much a nightmare as UNC basketball, hopefully along with the play on the court that will be something that improves next season too
was there a post on here with about 5 links to columns pointing out the imbalance in the bracket, or did i dream it?…
erased?
Ram’s Club members arent going to care if the tix are 40 or 20, are they? they care about the time.
it would be nice to hear how many student tickets are even available, and if the whole thing is general admission or what.
***
clash of unbeaten lax teams right before the NIT game, and right next door at Fetzer Field. Princeton in town.
^
There already is a Hansborough Indoor. It’s over on the Duke campus.
HTTE,
There is one. It was flagged b/c of the links. I approved it and for some reason it ended up back in the moderation queue. No idea why. It is there now.
wildhorses,
I was saying let the students turn Carmichael into a version of HIS over at Duke.
^ & ^^ – That post ended up on the most recent post – THF pick’em, I just looked at that one.
I do like the $20 fee as that is reasonable, I think the Rams clubs is always a low participant in the NIT and the late game made that twice as likely, especially when the parking is first come, first serve. Half of these folks, God love them and their money and their support, are having a hard time getting to their seats and to the car.
I would guess they are hurting for the ticket sales, I hope people go to this game though. It’s in a great location, it should be a completely different crowd and hopefully we can take a win. They could certainly use some noise though I’m completely sold that the students will come if they keep the current ticket policy in place. I think this season was a combination of poor performance and a garbage new student ticket policy. The student tickets are five bucks and you’d think Tuesday night isn’t going to keep anyone away from the bar.
Go Heels!
^whats changed about the student ticket policy this year?
cgbasket24: great story! thanks for sharing
I’ll second that. Inspiring story and well-told, cgbasket24.
Players coming together, and overcoming odds, is one of the things that makes team sports so special.
http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031510aag.html
^what’s the saying…”adversity doesn’t develop character, it reveals it”.
cgbasket24 –
I join Big Game and LarryS in thanking you for your story — simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting. That someone so young and full of life should die is tagic beyond words.
One of the reasons I come to this site rather than the other BB sites is that we have commenters who will go beyond the nuts and bolts, as you did. Nuts and bolts are important, of course, but THF provides a forum where you can get more.
I had my own encounter with cancer not all that long ago — liver cancer. Out of every 100 people who get that diagnosis, 4 survive. I got a transplant. From all the doctors can tell from their numerous tests, I am one of the 4.
I am humbled beyond my ability to express to have to admit that I have no idea why a 20 year-old should die and someone much older should live. But I can tell you this: Once you have faced it eyeball-to-eyeball, when it had its hands all over you, and you beat it, you lose your fear of any merely human force.
^I take it that “It’s A Wonderful Life” is a staple in the rath family video library?
^That and the other great Frank Capra Christmastime movie, “Meet John Doe.”
rath-glad you were that one in four!
^ Thanks. To say the least, I was glad too!
^whats changed about the student ticket policy this year?
Students only get one ticket with student ticks now, rather than 2.
But for this game it was first come first serve, tickets were $5.
I got two in section 118, 9th row!
Can’t wait.
here’s the policy we had:
get in line as early as you could. the end.
Shout out to Big Game,Larry S, & Rathskellar. Glad you liked the post on John Kratzer. While I was at Carolina I attended a FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) meeting. Jimmy Black was in attendance. The subject of inspirational stories came up and I told the group about the night of 12/7/77. They were touched. I probably haven’t thought about that night since then. I’m glad I had an opportunity to share it with the Tarheel Nation.
Rathskellar, I’m glad to hear you’re doing well. I wish you continued great health. My prayers are with you. Your quote that “you lose your fear of any merely human force” is profound and instructive. Why should any man ever fear a human force, but it takes an experience like yours to really put it into practice.
Two points that were made in the article http://cli.gs/EVamsL will always be a part of my consciousness. Kratzer planning his own funeral and selecting this St. Ignatius’ prayer on his prayer card:
“Take, Lord, receive all I have and possess.
You have given it all to me;
Now I return it to You.”
Secondly, W&M gives out an annual “Kraze Award” to honor John Kratzer’s life. The player who earns the Kraze Award is selected because he best represents COURAGE and PERSPECTIVE, the two defining qualities of John Kratzer.
Hoping that both teams play to the best of their abilities tonight. Hope that all Carolina fans keep this season in PERSPECTIVE. Cheer each and every Heel who steps on that floor. Lift them up instead of tearing them down. You’ll be surprised how well they play if you give them your unconditional support.
Go Heels and Go Tribe!!!! May the best team win.