The rollercoaster ride in North Carolina’s basketball delivered a whiplash to UNC fans in the span of six days. A brutal home loss to Marquette on Wednesday. An impressive recovery victory over the state of Florida three days later. And now, another gut punch via Syracuse: a 72-70 loss to the Orange.
The bumpy ride we dropped here should come as no surprise, but it does not make it easier for UNC to absorb. The Tar Heels were an 11-seeded in Jerry Palm’s bracket that penetrated the day and took a win at Florida 11’s number 11. But Palm made it clear they were included with a warning that they were far from is safe.
Falling to the Orange does not drastically hurt his tournament chances, but it now flanks dangerously with a disaster, with margin of error declining rapidly. If there’s a silver lining here, the drama is bubbling around North Carolina – the state. It now represents a juicy final season against the Duke in the regular season, which may be the most bubbling battle with blue blood all season, and both teams are taking the thread off as they strive for big bids.
With this, here are the winners and losers of Monday night from across the ring landscape – ranging from bubble talks to conference drama to everything in between.
Loser: North Carolina’s tournament profile hits
North Carolina moved from an 11-point series and in the field of 68 to Jerry Palm’s “last four in” with his loss to Syracuse, replacing Georgia Tech. So, yes, still in the field now, but hanging on a wire. It turns out that the tournament is not very good at committing 20 turnovers and making only four of 20 three-point attempts on Syracuse’s home court.
Winner: Syracuse survives
There’s a long list of teams at stake, and Syracuse’s 72-70 win over North Carolina has done well enough to keep it in the discussion. Still, Cuse is 0-6 in Quad 1 events and needs not only to win, but also well win. In 2021, a victory over UNC is not it. To overthrow the tar heels was important to keep his Big Dance dreams alive, but his resume remains hollow.
Loser: Atlantic 10 big candidates
After already winning the A-10, St. Bonaventure on Monday enters its final season finale against Dayton, who simply need to avoid a loss because a loss in the wise words of Jerry Palm would leave a big doubt. “But the Bonnies did not work with Mr Palm. Instead, they fell 55-52 in their game with the lowest scoring of the season, which inflicted a significant blow to the overall candidacy.
The loss on Monday was one of two cruel results in the A-10, with Richmond winning 76-73 against St. Louis. It also took place in a brutal way when Richmond’s Matt Grace hit a 3-pointer that came just after the last horn and was blown down. It’s too early to draw comprehensive conclusions from these results, but it’s a very crushing blow for two teams that entered the evening hoping to sneak into the Big Dance without the gold ticket to win the conference tournament.
Winner: Virginia finally gets back on track
There was no material danger that no. 21 Virginia, a No. 5 in Palm’s bracket, would not fall out of the tournament picture. But three consecutive losses over the past two weeks have hurriedly slipped from ACC frontrunner to ACC runner-up. It is treading water, and getting back on track against Miami on Monday in a 62-51 victory – even against Miami – qualifies as a victory for the reigning champion. Great confidence builder as it moves to the final season Saturday against Louisville.
Loser: Rutgers walk into Pinnacle Bank, tumble hard
Maybe – OK, definitely – the most beautiful result of Monday night: Nebraska 72, Rutgers 51.
Yes, Rutgers scored 51 points and lost by 21 points to the worst team in the Big Ten. This is Nebraska’s biggest win in league games since it beat, you guessed it, Rutgers in January 2016 by 34 points.
As expected, Western Kentucky did business with FIU on Sunday, winning 91-58. The Hilltoppers followed that up with a 71-59 victory over FIU on Monday to sweep the series for two games. Palm read that a loss would have wiped out their great hopes, and although a victory does not trap them, it absolutely keeps them in the bubble discussion. Winning the C-USA tournament might be the safest way to hit a ticket, given its shaky evidence for an athlete.