College broadcaster outraged by UNC’s selection: ‘North Carolina being in the NCAA Tournament is a crime’
The Tar Heels begin March Madness against San Diego in a First Four game, although many are unhappy about their involvement.
The North Carolina Tar Heels begin their 2025 March Madness tournament with a First Four play-in game against the San Diego Aztecs at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio on Tuesday (March 18). Some people are far from happy about it, however.
The Tar Heels have been one of the most successful schools in the NCAA Tournament over the years, winning on six occasions, most recently in 2017. Only the UCLA Bruins (11) and the Kentucky Wildcats (8) have won more championships. This year, however, many believe North Carolina shouldn’t even be one of the 68 teams taking part.
How North Carolina qualified for 2025 March Madness
The Tar Heels failed to automatically qualify for the tournament following a disappointing season, which they finished with a 22-13 record. To make maters worse, they were 1-12 in Quadrant 1 games (against the more valuable opponents), compared to 8-0 against Quad 2 competition.
The general view is that teams such as West Virginia, Ohio State, Boise State, and Indiana, who were all left out, were more deserving of an at-large berth due to their favorable records against Quad 1 opposition.
Of course, the fact that North Carolina’s athletic director, Bubba Cunningham, was the selection committee’s chair has led to suggestions the Tar Heels were given preferential treatment.
John Fanta: Tar Heels “crime” is “flat out wrong”
That is certainly the opinion of college basketball broadcaster John Fanta, who pulled few punches in a discussion on the matter on FS1’s “Breakfast Ball”.
"North Carolina being in the NCAA tournament is a crime." 🗣️ — @John_Fanta reacts to UNC's March Madness bid pic.twitter.com/mBcOV0tgS0
— Breakfast Ball (@BrkfstBallOnFS1) March 17, 2025
“North Carolina being in the NCAA Tournament is a crime,” Fanta began. “They had two wins over the field, one of which came over American. They had one win over a high-major team in the field, and that came against UCLA in a game that UCLA gave away. If you are going to hand a team that is 2-10 against teams in the field a bid to the NCAA Tournament, what are we doing here?
“West Virginia did lose Tucker DeVries, their best player, back in December. They were able to win at Kansas shorthanded. This team beat Iowa State in Morgantown. They own neutral site wins over Arizona and Gonzaga. Why don’t the results matter? West Virginia should have been in. I would have put Indiana in over North Carolina because they at least beat Purdue. They went to East Lansing and beat a Michigan State team that was on the two-line. The Tar Heels being in was flat out wrong.”
Given their form, few are expecting the Tar Heels to go especially far in the tournament, which would no doubt please Fanta and plenty of others. The manner in which they got in, though, has left them rankled.
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