March Madness tips off with First Four in Dayton

DAYTON, Ohio: North Carolina was a controversial selection for the NCAA Tournament, but the Tar Heels can silence some skeptics with a win over San Diego State on Tuesday night at the First Four.

The winner will face No. 6 seed Mississippi on Friday in Milwaukee.

The Tar Heels (22-13) seemed a long shot to make the tournament with a 1-12 record in Quadrant 1 games, but were chosen Sunday thanks to a strong nonconference schedule and other metrics.

“I didn’t listen to bracketology,” North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said Monday. “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, and we’re looking forward to tomorrow night.”

UNC’s inclusion fueled some conspiracy theories, with athletic director Bubba Cunningham being chair of the selection committee.

Rules state that Cunningham could not participate in the debate about his team, so the vice chair, Sun Belt Conference commissioner Keith Gill, presided over discussions about the Tar Heels.

The knock against North Carolina was a lack of Quad 1 wins. But the Tar Heels played the nation’s fifth-toughest nonconference schedule, which included games against No. 1 NCAA Tournament seeds Auburn and Florida, No. 2 seeds Alabama and Michigan State, and a trip to Kansas, which earned a No. 7 seed.

And the Tar Heels had higher rankings in the NET (36th), KenPom (33rd) and BPI (25th) than West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio State and Boise State, the first four teams left out of the field.

Additionally, they finished slightly ahead of the Mountaineers for best among that group in Wins Above Bubble (WAB), a metric added