And just like that, college basketball season is coming to a close.
The regular-season portion, that is. Conference tournaments start this week, then on Tuesday, March 19 – March Madness.
Riding a 4-game win streak, the first-place UNC men’s basketball team is in a solid position. The Tar Heels struggled with weekday losses last month, but a rare victory at UVA changed their course.
Tuesday will mark a sad day for North Carolina, though, as it celebrates Senior Night. That means the last-ever home games for Armando Bacot and Cormac Ryan, so there’s bound to be extra motivation to win.
Notre Dame continues to struggle in its first year without Mike Brey, though the Fighting Irish are on a mini, 2-game winning streak. They’ve beaten two solid teams in Wake Forest and Clemson, looking to grab a third in Chapel Hill on Tuesday night.
UNC survived a scare from NC State over the weekend, as the Wolfpack built an 8-point halftime lead behind hot shooting. The Tar Heels came out of the locker room a completely different team, as it forced 15 straight missed from NC State at one point.
Though North Carolina is in position for a strong seed in the Big Dance, Tuesday could easily qualify as a trap game. If the Tar Heels aren’t careful, Saturday’s game against Duke will decide the ACC Tournament’s top seed.