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CHAPEL HILL – Don’t ask North Carolina Coach Hubert Davis or his players about their NCAA Tournament resume, being on the bubble, or even what a Quadrant 1 victory is. They aren’t offering up anything because they say they don’t pay attention to that stuff.
The Tar Heels might be the most discussed team in the nation right now with respect to their NCAA Tournament worthiness, with most of the discourse steering toward the negative. Until Thursday night, UNC didn’t have a Quad 1 win on its resume, but had seven Quad 1 losses.
Posting an 0-7 mark in Q1 games isn’t going to help a team’s case for an at-large invitation to the big dance. But, Carolina’s win over Michigan on December 1 – 72 days ago – is now a Q1 victory because the Wolverines rose to No. 30 in the NET rankings Friday after beating Purdue on Thursday night.
The idea his team notched a Q1 win without even playing befuddled Davis when the topic came up during a press conference Friday in advance of Carolina’s home game versus Florida State on Saturday.
“I don’t talk about that at all,” Davis said, referring to their resume. “I don’t know what Quad 1 wins – what a quad is. Honestly, I have no idea. I don’t look at that stuff, I don’t pay attention to that stuff. You saying that we picked up a Quad 1 win without playing last night, I don’t know what that means.”
UNC’s NET ranking remained No. 41, but the Heels are now 1-7 in Q1 games. They are also 3-0 in Quad 2 games, 8-0 in Quad 3, and 5-0 in Quad 4 games. The NCAA selection committee will have a challenging time including the Heels in the NCAA field if they have no Q1 wins, and there isn’t any guarantee Michigan will remain that high.
The Wolverines have won six of their last eight games, so they are certainly trending in the right direction. But if they drop to No. 31, UNC’s win two months ago drops back to the Q2 variety.
For the sake of clarity, here is the Quadrant breakdown, as the rating of games versus the same team can change depending on where the contests are played:
Q1: Home 1-30; Neutral 1-50; Away 1-75
Q2: Home 31-75; Neutral 51-100; Away 76-135
Q3: Home 76-160; Neutral 101-200; Away 135-240
Q4: Home 161-353; Neutral 201-353; Away 241-353
The Tar Heels (17-7 overall, 9-4 ACC) simply must win games, and they at least know that, but they also need help from other teams they’ve beaten. Michigan is doing its part, as is the College of Charleston, which has won three consecutive games. Though, the Cougars somehow managed to drop to No. 162 in the NET. If they can move into the top 135, Carolina’s win there in mid-November would move to a Q2 victory, this enhancing its resume.
Furman was closing in on becoming a Quad 2 win for the Heels after winning eight of nine games in the Southern Conference. But the Paladins have dropped two straight and are now at No. 79 in the NET. If they can close strong and win most of their remaining games, UNC’s win over them in December could move into the Q2 department.
The players aren’t talking about this, however. They may be aware and some might even follow it daily, though that appears unlikely. They certainly aren’t discussing it among each other.
“We don’t have those conversations, we just try to go in every game and just try to take it game-by-game,” senior wing Leaky Black said. “One day at a time. We don’t really talk about that.”
UNC has two more Quad 1 games remaining in the regular season. The first is next weekend at No. 44 Virginia Tech, which is likely to remain among the top 75 through Selection Sunday, and the regular season finale at No. 11 Duke.
So, Michigan continuing to win will help Carolina’s cause, but the Heels sure could use one or two more Q1 victories. But to them, they just want and need wins, period. And, the only focus is playing the remaining clubs on their schedule while looking to get wins one game at a time.
“All I know is we play Florida State tomorrow,” Davis said. “We play Pittsburgh on Wednesday; I know that we go to Virginia Tech that next Saturday. I know that we play at home against Louisville, then I know we go on the road against NC State. Then I know our last home game is Syracuse, and then I know that we go play Duke on the road to end the regular season.
“And as far as I know, we’re going to the ACC Tournament in Brooklyn. That’s the only thing on my mind, that’s the only thing that I’m focused on. And as I’ve said before and preached to the players all the time, ‘eliminate the noise, and focus on your preparation, your practice, and your play.’”
With that, Davis says if his team does that “everything else will take care of itself.” Meaning, just win games and let the Quad stuff play itself out.
