The preseason AP No. 1-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels (UNC-Chapel Hill) look likely to miss out on March Madness after suffering a damaging loss to the Virginia Cavaliers in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) tournament quarterfinals.
UNC was defeated 68-59 by the Cavaliers on Thursday, leaving its hopes of playing in the season-ending NCAA men’s basketball tournament in tatters following an underwhelming season.
According to ESPN, if UNC misses out on the March Madness, it will become the first AP preseason No. 1 to miss it since NC State in 1974/75.
“It was definitely frustrating and disappointing, but one thing I can say about this group is we fight to the end,” Tar Heels guard RJ Davis – who led all scoring on Thursday night with 24 points – said afterwards.
“We’re a resilient group. We may get kicked down, but we always get back up, and that’s something that has been a major theme for this whole team.”
The Tar Heels’ continued struggles from three-point range – they hit 8-of-27 from beyond the arc – haunted the team yet again on Thursday.
The Tar Heels enter Selection Sunday with a 20-13 record and having missed out on the opportunity of sealing an automatic qualification spot, now are a long-shot to make the big dance.
The team’s star big man, Armando Bacot, missed the closing stages of the game, appearing to reaggravate an ankle injury suffered in Wednesday’s second-round win against Boston College.
“It’s not a great feeling,” second-year head coach Hubert Davis said. “Not the expectations that we had coming into the year. It was definitely frustrating and disappointing, but one thing I can say about this group is we fight to the end.”
He added: “I’m sad and disappointed for [the players] that we’re in this position. Just very sad for them.”
With the victory, No. 13 Virginia advanced to the semifinals where it will face the Clemson Tigers.
