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Joe Lunardi takes parting shot at UNC amid NCAA Tournament, West Virginia outrage

Wade-Peeryby:Wade Peery•about 11 hours
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© Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

No. 11 seed UNC made it into the NCAA Tournament, but it wasn’t without plenty of controversy and outrage from basketball fans across the country. The ‘Heels only had one Quad 1 win coming into the tourney, and plenty of people believed they should not have gotten in the tournament. Bracketologist Joe Lunardi did not believe they should have gotten in, and once they were bounced on Friday by the No. 6 seed Ole Miss Rebels, he didn’t hesitate to take a parting shot.

“Only one team in the NET era has ever gotten an at-large bid with just a single Quad 1 win. Two games later, North Carolina still has only one Q1 win,” Lunardi chimed in on his Twitter page.

UNC has been susceptible to coming out flat for much of the 2024-2025 college basketball season. And we saw that again on Friday, as the ‘Heels laid an egg in the first half. They got themselves in a deep hole, trailing 44-26 at halftime. The Tar Heels managed to battle all the way back, but came up just short in a 71-64 loss. It was a similar story that fans have seen out of this team several times all year. Digging themselves in too deep of a hole, battling back, only to come up short in the end.

After they torched the nets against San Diego State in their play-in game, UNC was ice cold on Friday from beyond-the-arc. They connected on just 5 of their 24 shots from beyond-the-arc (20.8%). The early exit ends a remarkable college career for Tar Heels sharpshooter R.J. Davis. He finished with 15 points after just hitting one of his eight three-point attempts. Stud freshman Ian Jackson was limited to just one point, going 0-for-2 from three-point range.

Big man Ven-Allen Lubin continued his recent stretch of solid play for the ‘Heels, stuffing the stat sheet with 14 points and two rebounds in the loss. Ole Miss guard Sean Pedulla was the hero for the Rebels. He delivered a devastating dagger from deep to ensure that UNC couldn’t come back in the final minute. Pedulla finished with 20 points, six rebounds, and five assists.