Duke basketball knocked UNC out of NCAA Tournament

The biggest rival of the Duke basketball team officially missed the NCAA Tournament. 

The Duke basketball team might have knocked North Carolina out of the NCAA Tournament after the Tar Heels did not receive a bid to the Big Dance on Sunday evening.

Surprisingly, Hubert Davis’ team was only the third team out of the field despite having just a 1-9 record in Quad 1 games.

Only Oklahoma State and Rutgers were closer to making the field than the Tar Heels.

However, being so close to the tournament means that North Carolina was one more quality victory away from making the field and its loss to Duke in Chapel Hill in the regular season finale may have kept the Tar Heels at home this March.

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North Carolina also fell to Virginia in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament — a game that could have been enough to put the national runners-up from a year ago in the field.

Duke beat North Carolina in its first matchup of the season, 63-57, in Durham as the Tar Heels were beginning a stretch in which they dropped five of six games.

Hubert Davis’ team becomes the first ever Associated Press Preseason No. 1 team to miss the NCAA Tournament since the event expanded in 1985.

The program also announced that it will not participate in the NIT.

Duke basketball, ACC teams invited to NCAA Tournament

Duke earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, despite winning the ACC Tournament on Saturday night, and will play No. 12 Oral Roberts on Thursday night in the Round of 64.

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Virginia (No. 4 seed), Miami (No. 5 seed), North Carolina State (No. 11 seed), and Pittsburgh (No. 11 seed) were the other ACC teams to receive bids on Selection Sunday.

The Tar Heels can watch the Blue Devils begin its quest for another NCAA Championship on Thursday.