UNC's RJ Davis: 'We've Shown' We're an 2025 NCAA Tournament Team Amid Bubble Watch

Despite a heartbreaking loss to Duke in the ACC tournament semifinals on Friday night, North Carolina is confident in the resume it has built over the course of the entire season to warrant a spot in the NCAA tournament.

Speaking to reporters after the Tar Heels' 74-71 loss to their rival, RJ Davis said "we've shown" we are a tournament team after a strong stretch to close the regular season:

"Look at the trajectory of our whole season, the way we dealt with adversity and our perseverance—especially these last couple weeks. You couldn't ask for a better team that goes through all that adversity and criticism and still perseveres. I think that's a tournament team for you right there. That's what March is all about."

The Tar Heels had a chance to pull off one of the signature wins of the season by any team in the country on Friday. The trailed by as many 24 points before storming back cut the deficit to 72-71.

Ven-Allen Lubin was at the free-throw line with four seconds remaining and a chance to give North Carolina a lead. He missed the first attempt and his second attempt that would have tied the score was waived off because Jae'Lyn Withers was called for a lane violation.

Lubin's three-point attempt as time expired that would have tied the game hit off the side of the rim, leaving the Tar Heels at the mercy of the selection committee.

North Carolina spent most of the season on the outside looking in at the tournament field. An 87-70 loss to Duke on Feb. 1 dropped the Tar Heels' record to 13-10.

Head coach Hubert Davis rallied his team after that point. They won nine of their last 12 games, including the ACC tournament, to improve their overall record to 22-13.

In his most recent bracketology update after Friday's games, ESPN's Joe Lunardi has North Carolina as the first team out of the field. He noted that spot is currently a toss-up with Texas also in the mix.

Lunardi cited UNC's good metrics despite not having many quality wins as giving it an edge over Texas. He also noted the selection committee has a history of punishing bubble teams that play weak non-conference schedules, which also works against the Longhorns.

Texas' non-conference strength of schedule ranked 67th in the nation, compared to fourth for North Carolina. The Longhorns do have four wins over teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25 poll, including Texas A&M (twice), Missouri and Kentucky.

North Carolina's best wins of the season are over No. 8 Tennessee and No. 10 Clemson.

Both teams were hurt by Colorado State continuing to play well down the stretch and advancing to the Mountain West title game on Saturday against Boise State.

Per Lunardi, there's a chance that both the Rams and Broncos could now make the tournament field regardless of the result from their head-to-head matchup. If that happens, it would likely take away the at-large bid North Carolina and Texas are vying for.

The Tar Heels are in danger of missing the tournament for the second time in three seasons. They were a No. 1 seed last season and advanced to the Sweet 16 before losing to Alabama.