North Carolina Gets No. 6 Seed in NCAA Tournament

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — It’s time to go dancing, as the next step in North Carolina’s roller coaster of a season awaits: the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels were named a No. 6 seed in the South region in the NCAA Tournament, the selection committee announced Sunday evening. 

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UNC (24-8) will take on 11th-seeded VCU (27-7) Thursday night (6:50 p.m./TNT) inside the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. If North Carolina wins, they will take on the winner of No. 3 seed Illinois and No. 14 seed Penn Saturday.

The Rams head to Greenville after finishing 15-3 in Atlantic 10 play, earning the No. 2 seed in the A-10 Tournament and ultimately winning the conference tournament with a victory over fourth-seeded Dayton on Sunday afternoon to punch their ticket to the big dance.

If the Tar Heels are to advance out of Greenville, the South Regional is scheduled for March 26 and 28 in Houston, Texas.

North Carolina entered Selection Sunday ranked No. 24 in the NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) and No. 21 in Wins Above Bubble (WAB) — two key metrics used by the selection committee when determining NCAA Tournament seeding. The Tar Heels went 6-8 against Quad 1 opponents this season after going just 1-12 last year.

North Carolina went 7-6 against NCAA Tournament teams this season, and is one of eight ACC teams in Sunday’s field of 68 ahead of Tuesday and Wednesday’s First Four matchups in Dayton, Ohio.

UNC enters the NCAA Tournament on a two-game skid after dropping Thursday’s 80–79 loss to Clemson in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, marking the Tar Heels’ first back-to-back losses since Jan. 17, when North Carolina fell to Stanford and Call on a West Coast trip.

“There’s one game guaranteed and after that, you have to win to get to the next one,” Henri Veesaar said after UNC’s loss to Clemson Thursday. “The joy of winning in postseason, it’s the best feeling that you can have as a basketball team. I hope every single person here — I don’t even hope, I know — I know every single person here is going to give 100 percent to get the job done.”

This season marks the fourth time the Tar Heels have been slotted as a No. 6 seed, and the first since 2014, when North Carolina defeated No. 11 Providence before falling to No. 3 Iowa State, 85–83. Coincidentally, 2014 also marked the last season UNC failed to win an ACC Tournament game.

This season marks North Carolina’s 55th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, with this year’s No. 6 seed representing the second-highest of Hubert Davis’ five-year tenure.

UNC has now reached the NCAA Tournament four times under Davis (2022, 2024, 2025, 2026). Last season, the Tar Heels advanced into the field of 64 by defeating San Diego State 95–68 in the First Four before falling to No. 6 seed Ole Miss, 71–64.