Can UNC win March Madness 2024? Analyzing the Tar Heels' chances and key factors for success
As one of the four top seeds entering this year`s March Madness, the UNC Tar Heels are on the radar of a lot of fans and pundits to potentially go all the way. But will they even have a chance against several of the best teams in the nation, or will they fall early to a major upset within the earlier rounds?
Here`s a quick look at the key factors for UNC`s success in this year`s Big Dance.
Can UNC win March Madness 2024?
Despite being one of the four top seeds, UNC is not one of the top four favored teams to win it all. That`s because instead of joining UConn, Houston and Purdue, the fourth spot goes to Arizona – which is in the same region as the Tar Heels in this year`s tournament.
Either way, a lot of things can still go right for North Carolina this season. If their defense holds up, and if they can play far more consistently (not to mention get excellent performances from stars Armando Bacot and RJ Davis nightly), they have a chance to contend.
UNC's March Madness odds
UNC`s odds of winning the national championship currently sit around +1700 (via The Daily Progress).
Teams that can win March Madness 2024
As one can see, here are the four teams with the highest odds to win it all in this year`s March Madness (via ESPN). Arizona is the odd one of the bunch being the only No. 2 seed, and the noticeable absence is the only other top seed in UNC. The Tar Heels are right below the Wildcats in the whole table, just outside of the top five.
North Carolina's March Madness history
Whenever UNC basketball gets into March Madness, they tend to go deep. For one, they`re 5-1 in Tournament games held at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. And they also have appeared in 18 total Tournaments as the No. 1 seed, including this year. In 10 of those 18 seasons, they were in the Final Four (via The Fayetteville Observer).
Historically, the Tar Heels have been to the NCAA Tournament an insane 53 times, including this year. They`ve won six total championships, been runners-up an equal number of times, and hold an NCAA record for making 21 total Final Fours.
Notably, North Carolina is the third-winningest team in NCAA history in terms of national titles, behind UCLA and Kentucky.