UNC is selected as the South Region’s eighth seed in the NCAA Tournament

The moment we have all been waiting for is finally here. The North Carolina Tar Heels will be the eighth seed in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament. This announcement was made just days after UNC’s ACC championship hopes were dashed by Florida State in Greensboro.

During the season there were concerns that the Tar Heels would find themselves on the outside looking in by the time the bracket was announced, but a couple of huge wins against Q1 teams and the sweeping of Duke was enough to give them a comfortable position in the tournament. This means that (technically) UNC avoids missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010. Their path to the Final Four will begin against Wisconsin, who is a team that the Heels haven’t seen since the Badgers knocked them out of the tournament in 2015.

While UNC will have a very tough opening matchup, things get significantly harder should they win. Assuming that the number one seed wins their opening game, the Heels will face off against the Baylor Bears in the second round. Baylor is currently 22-2 after a loss to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Tournament, and have been absolutely dominant all season long. One important thing to note is that UNC has been one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country, while the Bears have been one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in the country. Should the Heels find a way to defeat Goliath, the path to the Final Four looks significantly easier, but it will all start with getting past a Wisconsin team that finished right behind No. 8 Ohio State in the Big Ten standings.

UNC and Wisconsin will face off this Friday with the time yet to be determined. What do you think of UNC’s seeding? Do you feel like making out of the first weekend is nearly impossible, or do the Heels become one of the toughest lower seeds in the NCAA Tournament? Let us know in the comments below.

Go Heels!