Going into Sunday’s reveal of the 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket, it was presumed that North Carolina had locked up the final No. 1 seed.
They did land in the West Region with that final No. 1 seed, despite Jerry Palm’s mock that had Iowa State there instead. But while the Tar Heels did get that spot, it was a head-to-head matchup with Tennessee that UNC won earlier in the year that was likely the difference maker.
After the bracket reveal, Charles McClelland discussed that final No. 1 seed and how UNC got it over Tennessee. Here was his explanation for Iowa State:
“Iowa State, a magnificent team,” selection committee chair Charles McClelland said on the CBS Selection Show. “Great wins, great tournament. But we did look at that nonconference strength of schedule. And we talked about this all along. We look at the entirety of the season, from the first game all the way until the last. When we added it all up, we felt like Iowa State was appropriately placed on that two line.”
McClelland also talked UNC against Tennessee as CBS Sports David Cobb wrote:
McLelland’s assessment of the way the committee viewed the battle for the fourth No. 1 seed actually made it seem like Tennessee — not Iowa State — was UNC’s closest challenger for the honor. He mentioned “head-to-head with Tennessee” as a factor in the committee’s decision on the fourth No. 1 seed.
The Tar Heels beat the Volunteers 100-92 at home in November. Tennessee went on to have an excellent season, even rising to the projected No. 1 line in Jerry Palm’s Bracketology entering the postseason. But after an ugly loss to Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament, the Volunteers went limping into Selection Sunday and ended up as a No. 2 seed.
It’s nice to see the committee take head-to-head matchps into account and even with UNC losing the conference title game, they were still ahead of Iowa State where the Cyclones strength of schedule also played a factor.
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