University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Claims Top Seed In ACC Tournament
February 26, 2017 | Men's Basketball
by Aaron Beard, Associated Press
The Atlantic Coast Conference looked set for a tough, drama-filled fight for the No. 1 seed for next month's tournament. And then, suddenly, eighth-ranked North Carolina claimed it.
First the Tar Heels won 85-67 at Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon, clinching at least a share of the regular-season title.
A few hours later, they had also had the top seed for the tournament in Brooklyn thanks to No. 10 Duke's loss at Miami.
This didn't look likely to be resolved so quickly as recently as Wednesday, when the Tar Heels led No. 7 Louisville and Duke by one game in the standings. But John Gillon's last-second 3-pointer helped Syracuse beat Duke that night, then the Tar Heels beat the Cardinals to give UNC a two-game lead in the standings.
Duke's loss to Miami meant only Louisville, No. 19 Florida State and No. 21 Notre Dame could tie the Tar Heels in the standings for a share of the regular-season title, and UNC beat each in the lone head-to-head matchup to own the tiebreaker for the top seed.
The Tar Heels visit No. 18 Virginia then host rival Duke next weekend for the final week of the regular season. UNC can claim the outright regular-season title by winning either of those games.
As for the rest of the ACC Tournament field, well, that will take a while to sort out.
