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2017 NCAA Tournament: What it Means For the ACC if North Carolina Loses

By Noah Strackbein

Mar 24, 2017; Memphis, TN, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Joel Berry II (2) reacts in the first half against the Butler Bulldogs during the semifinals of the South Regional of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 24, 2017; Memphis, TN, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Joel Berry II (2) reacts in the first half against the Butler Bulldogs during the semifinals of the South Regional of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports /
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The ACC came into the 2017 NCAA Tournament with nine chances to reach the Final Four, and with one more Elite Eight game left, they are down to one team to represent the conference.

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Known as the best conference in college basketball, the ACC was set to have one of the biggest years in their history. You send nine teams to the NCAA Tournament and chances are you could see a Final Four featuring only your conference.

If you fail to send any teams to the Final Four, though, it leaves a lot of questions as to how overrated you really are. With North Carolina being the ACC team left in competition, their Elite Eight game against Kentucky is going to go a long way in how people view the world’s best conference next season.

You can look at it as the madness of March. You can say that teams like Notre Dame were seeded poorly and it led to their early elimination. Or, you can say that you had three ACC teams in your Final Four and none of them showed up to play in this tournament.

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Either way, your case is a strong one. When eight, possibly nine, members of your conference fail to reach the Final Four, there’s a lot of questioning to do. When you go from nine to one before the Sweet 16, it looks even worse.

So, North Carolina is the deciding factor. People are going to talk about how overrated the conference is either way. But put one of their teams in the Final Four and maybe even the Championship, and there’s less to say about how bad everyone in the ACC is. If the Tar Heels pull off the whole thing, then maybe there will be no talk at all.

If they lose, then let the snowball of words begin to roll. No matter how well each team in the conference plays next season, they will be haunted by the failed attempt the ACC had in the 2017 tournament. When the selection committee looks, being an ACC team won’t mean as much as it did this season unless there’s, even more, teams impressing during the regular season. This year’s tournament won’t give much help, though.

As much as Duke, Notre Dame, Louisville, and the rest of the conference is sick of seeing UNC in the Championship, for reputation’s sake, they need to win. You can’t have a meltdown like the ACC did this year and expect it just to disappear. Without a stronger performance next season, putting a few teams in the Elite Eight and Final Four, the ACC is going to take a few years to get this behind them.

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It comes down to one team. North Carolina wins, and some of the blow is gone. They lose, and the ACC is the laughing stock of the NCAA Tournament. So, as much as you may despise the Tar Heels, you’re an honorary fan as they take on Kentucky.