Seth Trimble states North Carolina has 'felt the hate' after NCAA Tournament selection

The North Carolina Tar Heels snuck into the NCAA Tournament as an 11-seed this year. That was a decision that was not without controversy, especially given UNC AD Bubba Cunningham‘s role as the selection committee chair. Unsurprisingly, that controversy has also come with some major pushback from the public.

Make no mistake, North Carolina has heard about that criticism. Junior guard Seth Trimble shared that the Tar Heels have been hearing the noise since their selection. At the same time, with the 11-seed being the lowest ever for North Carolina, there is a sense of pressure for the team to perform well.

“Absolutely. Absolutely,” Seth Trimble said. “I think we’ve all kind of felt the hate, the disagreement, all that, from everybody outside of the Carolina family and fan base.”

The criticism for North Carolina has been loud. It’s from more than just fans of teams who were snubbed too. ESPN analyst Jay Williams ripped the decision to include the Tar Heels. Jerry Palm, a bracketologist for CBS, was critical of both North Carolina and the selection committee over that bid. Then, Jon Rothstein would go so far as to call their inclusion a “miscarriage of justice.”

“We’re just running with it,” Trimble said. “We definitely feel like we’ve got something to prove. We wanted to be better this year, but we deal with the cards at hand. So, absolutely.”

Seth Trimble isn’t alone either. Others on North Carolina have made it clear that they’re aware of how much criticism has been levied against their inclusion in the NCAA Tournament. That includes star RJ Davis.

“Yeah, 100 percent,” Davis said. “For us to be considered an 11 team and to have people asking, do you think you’re a tournament team, that irks my soul because I know we are and I know what we’re capable of. It’s really just about proving ourselves right than people wrong.”

Hubert Davis responds to critics of North Carolina making NCAA Tournament

For his part, North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis has also heard the criticism. However, he made it clear that he’s not listening to the bracketologists.

“I don’t have any thoughts,” Davis said. “And I’m not on social media. In regards to those comments, that would be negligent on my part to comment on something I’ve never read or never hear. I’m not on — I didn’t listen to Bracketology. I didn’t listen after our name was selected on CBS, I didn’t listen to the telecasts. I haven’t listened to anybody’s comments in regards to selections, seedings, I know that we’re really excited to be a part of this. We’re looking forward to tomorrow night.”

North Carolina will open the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday, March 18th against San Diego State. It’s a First Four game and will be played in Dayton, Ohio.