CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) — The “Chase For The Championship” kicked into high gear Monday and CBS 17 is your home for the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
Raleigh is a host site this year. Duke will play here in Raleigh.
And Tar Heel fans are celebrating the University of North Carolina’s surprise return to March Madness that some are calling — on this St. Patrick’s Day — a bit of the luck of the Irish.
The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee gave the green light, live on CBS Selection Sunday, inviting UNC back to the Big Dance as an 11 seed in the South Region — and marking the Heels 54th tournament appearance and maybe their most controversial.
“Like my buddies would text me before selection Sunday asking like, do you think you’re going to get a bid? And I was like, I do not think we’re going to get in,” UNC junior Seth Judge told CBS 17’s Baron James. “We have not played well enough to deserve it. Obviously, I’m happy we’re in, but I understand all the people that are really upset.”
UNC Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham chairs the Selection Committee. And some basketball fans, particularly on social media, raised questions about fairness, bias, and special treatment.
But Cunningham says he did not take part in the UNC vote which took place after the Battle of the Blues.
The Tar Heels lost to the No. 1-ranked Duke Blue Devils for a third time this year at the ACC Tournament.
“I know that we’ve had a pretty good season, even though we lost against Duke,” UNC Freshman Tyler Morrison said. “ But I think the last couple of games we’ve been pretty close. And I think that this new opportunity to play in the March Madness game league is super exciting and I think we’ll do pretty well.”
So, the big question: How did UNC get an invitation back to the Big Dance?
According to the committee, it came down to a contingency vote based on Memphis beating UAB, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, which, over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend, luckily opened up a spot on UNC’s Big Dance card.
“I believe in the luck of the Irish,” UNC sophomore Jackson Lehman said in his leprechaun costume. “You know, we’re going to use that luck to take us all the way.”
North Carolina is scheduled to take on fellow No. 11 seed, San Diego State, in the First 4 Round in Dayton, Ohio, on Tuesday night.
UNC has been in 21 Final Fours, 12 National Championship games and won 6.