North Carolina Continues to Impress in Latest Bracketology

Just days after moving up from No. 14 to No. 11 in the latest AP college basketball rankings, the North Carolina Tar Heels also found themselves one seed line higher in ESPN's Joe Lunardi's Bracketology on Tuesday's edition.

Where the Tar Heels Stand

Similarly to Friday's edition, North Carolina finds itself in the same region as Michigan and Iowa State, which would be a daunting No. 1 and No. 2 seed to potentially go through. However, the Tar Heels have established that they can compete with anyone if the defense locks down.

Jon Scheyer's Thoughts Illustrate North Carolina's Toughness

Jan 24, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer directs his team during the first half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images | Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

"[North] Carolina, they played a great game to win, and that's a heartbreaking loss for our team," Scheyer said. "Congrats to Carolina for just clawing and fighting back and making one more play than we did down the stretch."

"I thought our guys were incredibly ready to play throughout the entire game," Scheyer continued. "Really we were in control of the game. I think you look at this sequence, we're up seven and we give up three consecutive threes. I think that's a clear point you can look at, just our defense has to be better, and we have to be stronger with the ball. You know, we'll learn from this. We'll grow from this."

Hubert Davis' Thoughts

Feb 7, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis with guard Kyan Evans (0) in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

“Yeah, (that) we’d continue to fight. We were down, but I think one of the things that we were missing is we didn’t join the fight," Davis said. "Every 50/50 loose ball they were getting, whether the ball was going up in the air on the ground, they were the first ones to get it. And we just continue to stick to it anytime, every time that we got knocked down, not only did we get back up, we kept taking a step forward. And as we continue to cut into the lead, our confidence just got better on both ends of the floor.”

“It’s all them, nothing by me, nothing. The wins go to them, and the losses go to me. It is what it is, and it’s all them," Davis said. "So, it was great. We talked about the mistakes that we’re making, that we can fix those mistakes, and we have the ability to make changes. So, that’s a good thing when you have problems and you can fix them… we just started to execute on both ends of the floor, and I felt confident that we can get back in the game.”

Overall Assessment

North Carolina proved a lot on Saturday night, but came back down to earth on Tuesday night, losing to the Miami Hurricanes 75-66.

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