Final Bracket Prediction Puts UNC Basketball in Caleb Love's Region

UNC basketball may still have some work to do to land a No. 1 seed for the Big Dance.

Author:
Matt Giles
Mar 12, 2024 3:07 PM EDT

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The NCAA Tournament selection committee often sets the stage for compelling matchups. On that note, it wouldn't be a surprise if the final bracket prediction that Andy Katz released on Tuesday afternoon proves accurate with respect to the UNC basketball team being a No. 1 seed in the West region alongside No. 2 seed Arizona.

That, of course, would provide a path for the fourth-ranked Tar Heels to face former three-year UNC guard Caleb Love, now in his first year starring for No. 6 Arizona, with a trip to the Final Four at stake.

And the matchup would feature a battle between Love, the newly minted Pac-12 Player of the Year, and his former backcourt running mate in Chapel Hill in ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis. Intriguing, indeed.

Katz has UNC squaring off against No. 16 seed Longwood in the Round of 64 and with a chance to play the winner between No. 8 seed Nevada and No. 9 Michigan State in the Round of 32.

His projected 68-team field includes only three others from the ACC: No. 3 seed Duke, No. 5 seed Clemson, and No. 11 seed Virginia. None of those programs are in the Tar Heels' region.

Selection Sunday airs at 6 p.m. ET Sunday on CBS.

First, UNC basketball heads to Washington, D.C., for the ACC Tournament, where the top-seeded Tar Heels, riding a six-game winning streak following Saturday night's win over the Blue Devils in Durham, will meet either No. 8 seed Virginia Tech or No. 9 seed Florida State at noon Thursday.

They probably need to fare well to secure one of the NCAA Tournament's four top seeds. Purdue, Houston, and UConn already look like locks for that honor.