UNC took their first Quad 1 win of the season on Saturday, beating Virginia Tech on the road after losing a Quad 4 at home in Pittsburgh. This was a big jump in terms of the Tar Heels' NCAA Tournament status, as it is reflected in the bracketology projections.
In the first year of the Hubert Davis era, UNC is on a full bubble. CBS Sports' Jerry Palm places the Tar Heels with Michigan, Oregon and Rutgers in the "First Four Out" section of his latest Bracketology update released Monday.
"It's us," Davis said of the bounce back performance against Virginia Tech. "I think it's a very tough group. I would say it's a very resilient group. It's us, we bounce back. Another feature of who we are is that we have sports where it's good No. I hope we don't have these kinds of games again the rest of the season, but that's what we are. All year long, we've been a resilient group and we've also been a group that plays poorly sometimes, When it's least expected. We are the one."
North Carolina (19-8, 11-5) hosts Louisville (12-14, 6-10) on Monday nights. In terms of "games where it's not good," says Davis, the Heels would need to avoid one of those against the Cardinals.
After the win over Virginia Tech, Davis said, "I hope that's changing. That's what I've been hoping for all year, that we can have that kind of consistency where we don't have a game to reset us." I think about one of the things that we've really struggled with this year, it's not coming back. I think when good things happen, when things go well for us, we've had many times more So it's going to be a challenge for us to play the Louisville team that is so upset that we beat them on their home turf. Can we get the maturity to enjoy this win but get locked out? And be ready to go home on Monday and look after home against a really good Louisville team? I think handling success has taken us more trouble than we back down."
The Tar Heels finished the season with Louisville, NC State, Syracuse, and then a game at Duke. The win over Virginia Tech was very important, as the Blue Devils have only a Quad 1 opportunity in the game. North Carolina could afford another slip-up in the three games until then.