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UNC Basketball: Tar Heels on the rise in updated Bracketology projections

By Blake Cockrum

Dec 1, 2021; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Caleb Love (2) reacts with guard R.J. Davis (4) in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 1, 2021; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Caleb Love (2) reacts with guard R.J. Davis (4) in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Following wins over Michigan and Georgia Tech, the UNC basketball program is on the rise in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections.

Following a pair of losses to Purdue and Tennessee in the Cheez-It Hall of Fame Tip-Off, the North Carolina Tar Heels fell all the way to the No. 9 seed in the Midwest Region from their previous position as a 6-seed. But after three consecutive victories, including a convincing win over the No. 24 Michigan Wolverines, the Tar Heels are on the rise in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracket projections.

The longtime ESPN Bracketologist and college basketball analyst released his latest iteration of extremely premature 2022 NCAA Tournament seeds, and the Tar Heels have moved up to No. 28 overall between Seton Hall and Illinois. That’s good for a 7-seed in the Big Dance; the last of four 7-seeds according to Lunardi.

That means the Tar Heels have moved up roughly a half-dozen spots since Lunardi’s previous list, a nice jump for just a couple weeks of work. And it’s well-deserved in my mind, as Hubert Davis’ squad has steamrolled each of their opponents since a poor showing against the Tennessee Volunteers on November 21.

If they’ve truly turned a corner — something every UNC fan hopes is the case — then this won’t be their final upward movement in Lunardi’s pre-tournament bracket. They’ll have plenty of opportunities to do so, as they’ve got a pair of upcoming games against third-ranked Duke, a neutral court matchup with No. 4 UCLA and an entire slate of ACC road games.

It’s still early, particularly as it pertains to NCAA Tournament seeding and projecting where teams will end up, but it’s never too soon to accumulate resume-building wins. Not only will those wins give the NCAA Selection Committee more reasons to award the Tar Heels a seed in the bracket’s upper echelon, but they’ll also help prepare them for the single-elimination tournament that’s among the most difficult in all of sports.

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