The North Carolina Tar Heels’ inclusion in the NCAA Tournament field has sparked significant backlash from media members around the sport. On Monday, college basketball broadcaster John Fanta jumped into the growing chorus of criticism against the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee’s decision to grant the Tar Heels a bid.
Fanta joined the cast of FS1’s Breakfast Ball on Monday morning to discuss his thoughts on the NCAA Tournament field. And right away, Fanta made it a point to air his grievances at the “crime” he believes the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee made by including the Tar Heels in the field.
“North Carolina being in the NCAA Tournament is a crime,” said Fanta. “They had two wins over the field, one of which came over American. They had one win over a high-major team in the field, and that came against UCLA in a game that UCLA gave away. If you are going to hand a team that is 2-10 against teams in the field a bid to the NCAA Tournament, what are we doing here?
“West Virginia did lose Tucker DeVries, their best player, back in December. They were able to win at Kansas shorthanded. This team beat Iowa State in Morgantown. They own neutral site wins over Arizona and Gonzaga. Why don’t the results matter? West Virginia should have been in. I would have put Indiana in over North Carolina because they at least beat Purdue. They went to East Lansing and beat a Michigan State team that was on the two-line. The Tar Heels being in was flat out wrong.”
It’s hard to argue with anything Fanta said here.
Multiple teams that missed out on the NCAA Tournament — West Virginia, Indiana, and possibly even Ohio State and Boise State — have strong cases for being in over North Carolina.
It’s possible the Selection Committee took into account West Virginia’s lackluster performance, including a loss to No. 16 seed Colorado in the Big 12 Tournament. However, when comparing the resumes of West Virginia and North Carolina, the Mountaineers’ record is far more impressive.
While some, like ESPN’s Jay Bilas, may argue that debating the last few spots in the tournament is meaningless, Fanta clearly sees North Carolina’s at-large bid as an injustice to teams that were left out.
Whether you agree or not, North Carolina now has the chance to prove themselves in the tournament, facing San Diego State in a First Four matchup on Tuesday night. The Tar Heels are currently 4.5-point favorites across most sportsbooks.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.