According to NCAA selection committee criteria, teams are judged based on their full body of work—strength of schedule, quality wins, bad losses, and advanced metrics like NET rankings. As per even neutral observers, by those standards, UNC’s inclusion was at best questionable and at worst an outright mistake. One of their most glaring numbers was a mere 1-12 wins in quad 1. Even more fuel was added to the fire when critics pointed out that UNC’s athletic director, Bubba Cunningham, happens to be the chair of the selection committee.

But Hubert Davis’ side kept those talks away from the court and delivered a win in the First Four game. Naturally, the Tar Heels nation wants respect for their name, especially after the win, which the CBS Journalist doesn’t believe are two different topics. He made it very clear that even if UNC miraculously wins the entire thing, it still won’t justify their inclusion in the first place.

Gary Parrish hence pulled no punches, saying, “Everything that happens after Selection Sunday has literally nothing to do with any conversation we were having on Selection Sunday. I don’t care if they go to the Final Four, it’ll never change what their resume looked like on Selection Sunday and on Selection Sunday their resume should not have been good enough to be in this bracket.“

Parish is not wrong with his statement. Hubert Davis’ team had a 22-13 record. And the stat that made it all so mindboggling was “Quadrant 1,” which values beating highly rated teams, particularly on the road. Their lone win came against UCLA, a team that was good but was not exactly setting the basketball world on fire as many argue. Also, a snub is a snub no matter what. Better or similar teams were left out like West Virginia, Ohio State, Boise State, and Indiana, and the questions started for their inclusion. West Virginia was 6-10, Ohio State was 6-11, Indiana was 4-13, and Boise State was 3-6.

Let’s not forget, that North Carolina entered the tournament with its lowest seed in history! UNC’s inclusion, however, isn’t just an argument over stats. Call it the “blue-blood privilege”—certain programs always seem to land on their feet, even when their regular season performance suggests they should be sitting this one out. The Tar Heels, a blue-blood program with six national championships, bring ratings, merchandise sales, and a fanbase that just wants everyone to leave their team alone!

Despite the flaky record, Hubert Davis and Co. receive the loudest support

The UNC men’s basketball team (23-13, 13-7 ACC) overpowered San Diego State (21-10, 14-6 MWC), 95-68, to clinch the No. 11 seed and advance to the first round of the NCAA tournament on Tuesday evening. The clinical performance meant a fan was tired of questions surrounding the program’s inclusion. “Is it this serious… like really!! Let it go – already…..smh.” Even though their Quad 1 record was not impressive, North Carolina went 8-0 in “Quad 2” games and played a schedule ranked the nation’s 25th-toughest, per ESPN ratings.

Also, over their last 10 games, UNC went 8-2, proving they’re hitting their stride at the right time. Another netizen simply stated: “Cry cry cry 😭.” There are other stats too that back the Tar Heels. They are ranked in the top 15 on BartTorvik during this stretch, a metric that highlights statistical dominance in recent games. Their only loss in the past month came against the No. 1 team in the country.

Since the CBS crew did not put these stats forward, a fan simply added a GIF of WWE icon The Rock. Not caring about the opinion, the GIF implied ‘It Doesnt Matter What You Think’. Cleary Hubert Davis and the Co. have a loyal support system. UNC leads six of the seven key NCAA selection metrics, giving them a stronger case than several teams left out. Since the loudest questions were only around Tar Heels, a loyal supporter questioned the logic of the CBS broadcasters.

“do you guys talk about other 67 teams maybe? they deserve their attention even more after having successful seasons going into the tournament.” One fan clearly brought the stats on the table, “Fact is UNC isx36th in Net rankings, nobody in top 36 of net has ever been left out.” Which might or might not be true since Indiana could not make it last year, despite being 29th in the NET.

Well, it seems like while for Gary Parrish, the questions won’t end even if UNC wins the March Madness. But that would be a delight for the Tar Heels nation.