Bubble teams ahead of UNC basketball in action on Thursday night
The 2022-23 college basketball season is winding down and the North Carolina Tar Heels basketball program is in a spot not many thought they would be in at this stage.
On the wrong side of the bubble.
North Carolina is now 17-11 overall and 9-8 in the ACC following Wednesday’s win over Notre Dame. It wasn’t a win that moved UNC into the field of 68 as they are still on the outside looking in. But they will have chances down the line beginning Saturday against Virginia.
While the simple way for UNC to get in is win out and win as many games as they can in the ACC Tournament, there are other teams on the bubble that UNC should be paying attention to. And a few of them play on Thursday night.
CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm broke down bubble games including Penn State who is ahead of UNC in the first four out and USC who is in the last four in.
Here’s what Palm said about Penn State and the game against Ohio State:
The Nittany Lions have not been a good road team, but they cannot afford to just win their home games. Ohio State has been reeling for a couple of months so this is Penn State’s best chance left to get a road win. There are no easy games left though, home or away.
As for USC, they face a tough road game at Colorado:
Life on the road isn’t easy in any conference, but the Trojans have to find a way to win anyway. The Colorado-Utah road trip brings Quad 1 opportunities, which are always welcome. Their strength of schedule is relatively poor compared to the teams they are competing with for a spot in the field, so the Trojans need to get as many quality wins as they can to overcome that and a couple of bad losses.
I mentioned it earlier that UNC just needs to take care of its business first and foremost, but getting some help could benefit them too.
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