(WGHP) — Selection Sunday is here and several North Carolina schools are getting ready to lace their sneakers up and put their names among the legends of March Madness.
These are all of the North Carolina colleges and universities that will be going dancing this year:
Automatic Qualifiers
High Point University — No. 13 seed in the Midwest Region
29-5 (14-2 in Big South)
The High Point Panthers men’s basketball team is going dancing for the first time in the history of the program after going wire-to-wire as both the Big South regular season and Big South Tournament champion.
The Panthers had an impressive regular season and earned the No. 13 seed in the Midwest Region of the bracket. They will face No. 4 seed Purdue Boilermakers in the First Round on Thursday in Providence, Rhode Island.
UNC Wilmington — No. 14 seed in the West region
27-7 (14-4 in Coastal Athletic Association)
The UNC Wilmington Seahawks are going back to the Big Dance for the first time since 2017 when now-former NC State coach Kevin Keatts took them to the NCAA Tournament.
UNC Wilmington finished second in the CAA regular season standings and won the CAA Tournament to earn the No. 14 seed in the West Region of the bracket. They will face No. 3 seed Texas Tech in the First Round on Thursday in Witchita, Kansas at 9:10 p.m.
Duke University — No. 1 seed in the East region
31-3 (19-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference)
The Duke Blue Devils have been among the most dominant teams in the nation throughout the regular season this year.
Led by ACC Player of the Year Cooper Flagg and an outstanding supporting cast, the Blue Devils cruised through ACC play nearly unblemished en route to the ACC regular season championship and have spent most of the season ranked in the top 10.
Duke defeated UNC in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament and defeated Louisville in the ACC Championship Game to earn a No. 1 seed in the East Region of the bracket.
They will face the winner of the First Four game between No. 16 seed American and No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary’s in the First Round on Friday in Raleigh at 2:50 p.m.
At-Large Bids
UNC Chapel Hill — No. 11 seed in the South Region
22-13 (13-7 in Atlantic Coast Conference)
It has been a turbulent season in Chapel Hill. A year that began with high expectations was quickly shot down by a 14-11 start, which made the NCAA Tournament seem like an impossible dream.
However, the Tar Heels rallied down the stretch and scratched their way into the bracket.
UNC finished the regular season fifth in the ACC standings and defeated Notre Dame and Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament before losing to Duke in the semifinals to earn a No. 11 seed in the South Region of the bracket.
They will face No. 11 seed San Diego State in the First Four on Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio at 9:10 p.m.
Who’s out?
Wake Forest University
21-11 (13-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference)
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons find themselves among the teams just on the outside of the tournament looking in for the third time in the Steve Forbes era.
After a 15-4 start to the season and a 7-1 start to ACC league play, Wake Forest seemed like a lock for the tournament. However, the Demon Deacons collapsed late and went 6-6 in their final 12 games, including a loss to UNC in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals, which was a must-win for both teams’ tournament hopes.
While Wake Forest will likely be invited to the NIT Tournament, it remains to be seen whether or not they will accept an invitation, however.
