You won’t find too many people defending the North Carolina Tar Heels’ inclusion in the NCAA Tournament this week, but few will eviscerate the selection committee’s decision as succinctly as CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein.
Appearing on CBS Sports Network’s Bracket Breakdown show on Sunday night, Rothstein didn’t mince words when he discussed UNC’s spot in the field of 68.
North Carolina being in the NCAA Tournament over teams like Indiana and West Virginia is a miscarriage of justice.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 17, 2025
“I’m going to talk about the bad right now, and I’m going to talk about it emphatically,” Rothstein began before laying into the committee’s decision. “If the criteria for the NCAA Tournament, in terms of getting an at-large bid, is to beat other NCAA Tournament teams if you’re on the bubble, how in the world can North Carolina get an at-large bid over Indiana and over West Virginia? Indiana, unlike North Carolina, has no Quad 3 and 4 losses. Indiana went on the road East Lansing and beat Michigan State who is a two-seed, and beat Purdue on its home floor, who is a four-seed in this bracket, and Indiana did not get in the NCAA Tournament.
“Then let’s talk about West Virginia. West Virginia won a game at Allen Fieldhouse. West Virginia beat Gonzaga on a neutral court. They beat Arizona on a neutral court. It also beat Iowa State. And North Carolina is in over those two teams? I’m just waiting for someone to say, ‘We got some swamp water to sell you in Florida.’ That’s how I feel right now.”
Unlike Indiana and West Virginia, North Carolina sports just a single Quad 1 victory in 13 tries. West Virginia, on the other hand, won six Quad 1 games in 16 tries, while Indiana won four such games in 17 tries. None of these three teams had elite records against the best teams in the country, but two of them clearly demonstrated an ability to beat those teams on a somewhat regular basis. North Carolina proved exactly the opposite, yet are still in the tournament.
“North Carolina not deserving to be in has no bearing on how the Tar Heels can play in the bracket,” Rothstein mentioned.
UNC will have yet another opportunity to prove itself starting in Dayton this Tuesday during the First Four. No doubt, a deep tournament run will quiet a lot of critics. But on the other side of the coin, an early exit will be met with even more media chatter about their less-than-deserving resume.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.