Tar Heels boost NCAA hopes with key Quad 1 win

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North Carolina's hopes for an NCAA Tournament berth became even more tenuous after a loss to Pittsburgh.

Before last week, the Tar Heels had no real marquee wins, but also no bad losses. They put one in the negative column with Wednesday's 76-67 home loss to the Panthers, who are 170th in the NET rankings.

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The Quadrant 4 loss, North Carolina's first in 18 games against teams from Quads 2-4, surely doomed its NCAA Tournament chances.

Then came Saturday's 65-57 win Virginia Tech. Finally, after seven tries, a Quad 1 win that put the Tar Heels right back on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

"There have been times as I’ve said before that they’ve been knocked down, they’ve been scarred," North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said. "And they seem to always get back up and continue to fight."

North Carolina (19-8, 11-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) has won most of the games it was expected to win in Davis' first season since replacing Roy Williams. Where the Tar Heels had trouble was pulling out wins in marquee games, losing to No. 5 Purdue, No. 16 Tennessee, No. 4 Kentucky, No. 9 Duke.

North Carolina forward Brady Manek (45) reacts following a dunk against Michigan center Hunter Dickinson (1) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Their lone resume-building win, over then-No. 24 Michigan in early December, lost much of its luster as the Wolverines struggled and dropped down the NET rankings.

That changed in recent weeks as Michigan has climbed up the NET rankings after wins over Purdue and Iowa. The Wolverines were up to