College Basketball
Triangle teams start NCAA play Friday
Published: 2013-03-17 18:30:00
Updated: 2013-03-18 18:55:17
Mar 18, 2013
Just four teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference, including the three from the Triangle, made the 2013 NCAA Tournament when the selection committee made its choices known Sunday night.
The three Triangle teams – Duke, North Carolina State and North Carolina universities – all begin play on Friday.
Duke, the top seed from the ACC and a No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region, will open the NCAA Tournament against Albany in Philadelphia. That game is slated to tip at 12:15 p.m. on CBS (including WRAL-TV). No. 15 seed Albany (23-10) is the champion of the America East Conference.
2013 NCAA men's interactive bracket
NC State and UNC both earned No. 8 seeds; State in the East and UNC in the South.
Print your 2013 NCAA tournament bracket
The Tar Heels have the tougher road to advance beyond the first weekend. They'll first meet 20-13 Villanova on Friday night at 7:20 p.m. (TNT). If they can hold their seed, Round 3 would pit the Heels against No. 1 seed Kansas (29-5), the same team coached by North Carolina's Roy Williams from 1988 to 2003.
North Carolina (24-10) lost 87-77 to Miami in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship Sunday, but the Tar Heels have won eight of their last 10 games.
The Wolfpack have Temple in Dayton Friday at 1:40 p.m. in the 8-9 match. That game will air on TBS. The Owls (23-9) have one fewer loss than State, but don't appear to stack up in statistically. Where the Wolfpack are fifth in the nation in field goal percentage (.494), Temple is ranked 192nd, shooting just 43 percent.
The Wolfpack, who won the 1983 national title, ended a season of promise at 24-10 overall, including a fourth-place finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Owls will play this game in an arena that's familiar to them, since the Dayton Flyers are members of the same conference.
Two other North Carolina teams also made the field. North Carolina A&T plays in a "First Four" game Tuesday against Liberty University. The winner of that game will face Louisville, the overall No. 1 seed, on Thursday.
Davidson, a No. 14 seed, opens play against Marquette on Thursday in the East Region. The Wildcats (26-7) are dancing for the second straight season after defending their Southern Conference championship.
Louisville earned the top overall seed in the field, while Kansas, Indiana and Gonzaga also received No. 1s after a topsy-turvy regular season and another round of weekend upsets.
The selection committee had its work cut out after five teams swapped the top ranking in The Associated Press poll, capped by West Coast Conference champion Gonzaga (30-2) moving to the lead spot for the first time in school history.
But it is No. 4 Louisville (29-5) that leads the 68-team field after pulling off a stunning comeback to beat Syracuse in the final of the Big East tournament.
No. 7 Kansas (29-5) defeated rival Kansas State for the Big 12 championship, while No. 3 Indiana (28-6) held on despite falling to Wisconsin in the Big Ten semifinals.
Copyright 2013 by WRAL.com and the Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Most Recent Comments
RE: Triangle teams start NCAA play Friday
Ken, on ESPN, they were comparing overall schedules/rankings with Miami and 2 other 1 seeds. (don't remember who). Miami was ahead in EVERY category. I think they should have been a 1 seed.
- Posted by TB in NC
I saw that as well, Tommy. Jay Bilas thinks the Committee paid a lot of attention to losses, just as much to as who you beat.
As for Roy VS Kansas, I think he's 0-fer against his former team. Hopefully, we've seen the last of any stickers and that awful plaid jacket he wore yesterday:)
The bottom line is, the committee doesn't publish what criteria they use to make the brackets. Until that happens, noone knows what criteria is used, which points are weighted more than others, etc.
It's the same thing as throwing darts at a board and seeing what sticks. That's what Bilas was complaining about all day yesterday.
And yes, Roy's plaid jacket was an eyesore.
As for throwing darts, I may as well do that with my brackets. For all the research I do, watch the shows, read up about teams, etc., my brackets always suck. But they're fun, and I don't put money on them.
My bracket was shot last year, when Duke lost to Lehigh.
RE: Triangle teams start NCAA play Friday
The committee chair indicated that they don't pair the highest #1 seed with the lowest #2. These days, geography plays a bigger role in deciding which region to place teams. Though he danced around it a bit, and didn't say this explicitly, he left the impression that it came down to Miami or Gonzaga for the last #1 seed.
- Posted by Ken D.
Ken, on ESPN, they were comparing overall schedules/rankings with Miami and 2 other 1 seeds. (don't remember who). Miami was ahead in
EVERY category. I think they should have been a 1 seed.
I saw that as well, Tommy. Jay Bilas thinks the Committee paid a lot of attention to losses, just as much to as who you beat.
As for Roy VS Kansas, I think he's 0-fer against his former team. Hopefully, we've seen the last of any stickers and that awful plaid jacket he wore yesterday:)
The bottom line is, the committee doesn't publish what criteria they use to make the brackets. Until that happens, noone knows what criteria is used, which points are weighted more than others, etc.
It's the same thing as throwing darts at a board and seeing what sticks. That's what Bilas was complaining about all day yesterday.
And yes, Roy's plaid jacket was an eyesore.
As for throwing darts, I may as well do that with my brackets. For all the research I do, watch the shows, read up about teams, etc., my brackets always suck. But they're fun, and I don't put money on them.
RE: Triangle teams start NCAA play Friday
In case anyone was curious, Virginia, Maryland and Florida State all got NIT bids... not that anyone on here really cares.
- Posted by timdouthit
I'm glad they got NIT bids - they deserve to be playing post season. Thanks, Tim.
RE: Triangle teams start NCAA play Friday
Since the four #1s are ranked, it follows that the overall #1 (Louisville) would be matched up against the perceived weakest of the #2s (Duke). I'm not saying Duke is the weakest of the #2s (I think the differences in the top tier teams are negligible), but that's how the committees' seeding has characterized them.
Kansas had more top 50 wins than anyone in the tournament, but again, seeding the #1s and #2s is really a matter of splitting hairs.
- Posted by boolittlek
The committee chair indicated that they don't pair the highest #1 seed with the lowest #2. These days, geography plays a bigger role in deciding which region to place teams. Though he danced around it a bit, and didn't say this explicitly, he left the impression that it came down to Miami or Gonzaga for the last #1 seed.
Ken, on ESPN, they were comparing overall schedules/rankings with Miami and 2 other 1 seeds. (don't remember who). Miami was ahead in
EVERY category. I think they should have been a 1 seed.
I saw that as well, Tommy. Jay Bilas thinks the Committee paid a lot of attention to losses, just as much to as who you beat.
As for Roy VS Kansas, I think he's 0-fer against his former team. Hopefully, we've seen the last of any stickers and that awful plaid jacket he wore yesterday:)
The bottom line is, the committee doesn't publish what criteria they use to make the brackets. Until that happens, noone knows what criteria is used, which points are weighted more than others, etc.
It's the same thing as throwing darts at a board and seeing what sticks. That's what Bilas was complaining about all day yesterday.
And yes, Roy's plaid jacket was an eyesore.
RE: Triangle teams start NCAA play Friday
unc had 5 chances to get a signature win in 2 games against duke and 3 against miami. if they won one of those 5 games, i guarantee the committee would've given them a 7 seed.
- Posted by 903 Rock Chalk Wiggins Hawk
yep
Can't argue with you here. Makes sense.
Rank: 
