MILWAUKEE, WI – Perhaps North Carolina’s time in the 2025 NCAA Tournament will be remembered in some circles for its strange travel.

The Tar Heels were almost four hours late getting to Dayton on Monday, a day after the tournament bracket was revealed. Then, after routing San Diego State by 27 points in a game that ended not long before midnight, the Heels’ flight to Milwaukee didn’t leave until 2:50 AM.

A mad rush to the team hotel in Dayton, showers, packed, and to the airport. But then a bit of a wait. Originally slated to leave at 2 AM, the Heels weren’t in the air for another 50 minutes.

“Yes, absolutely,” UNC forward Ven-Allen Lubin replied when asked if it was the latest he’s ever taken off in a plane. “It was a long night.”

The Tar Heels went to Milwaukee, checked into their hotel, and after some sleep, went to the Milwaukee Bucks’ practice facility for a workout. The prep they didn’t get for San Diego State, because of the travel problems, they got in for Ole Miss, Carolina’s opponent Friday at Fiserv Forum in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

On a positive note for the Heels, they didn’t have to deal with the storms that adversely affected travel from Dayton to Milwaukee on Wednesday. Chicago’s O’Hare Airport had no flights take off for nearly two hours at one point. And with Milwaukee only 90 miles north, the weather impacted travel all day.

So, in some respects that’s a win for Carolina. It was still a strange and rushed sequence of events and then a 3 PM practice added on.

“It was pretty crazy,” sophomore point guard Elliot Cadeau said. “That was probably the quickest turnaround in my college career. On a flight at 2 AM and then practicing the next day. It’s tough but a lot of other teams are doing it, too, it’s not just us. So, you’ve got to work through it and just take care of our bodies.”

It wasn’t the worst travel the team has experienced this season, according to veteran Jae’Lyn Withers. He said Carolina’s 10-hour flight to Honolulu from Raleigh and then back, when they played four games on the islands, was worse.

“I would say Maui is the one trip that trumps everything,” Withers said. “Flying to Maui and back, that was the most gruesome flight I’ve ever been on.”

If Carolina advances Friday, there won’t be any weird travel before its next contest Sunday. That’s right here in Milwaukee.