March Madness committee gifts UNC a bid to the NCAA dance; No. 1 seed Duke to play in Raleigh

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- For bubble team North Carolina, Selection Sunday probably felt like the longest day of the year.

But it quickly turned to smiles as the Tar Heels were selected as a No. 11 seed and will play San Diego State, also a No. 11 seed. The games will be in Dayton, Ohio.

For top seeds in waiting like 2025 ACC champions Duke, it's not about making it into the NCAA tournament; it's only a matter of when and where.

No surprise here: Duke is the No. 1 seed in the East Region. The Blue Devils play Friday in Raleigh at the Lenovo Center.

The tournament opens Tuesday and Wednesday with play-in games and the first round opens Thursday and Friday, featuring 32 games at eight sites across the country.

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The Final Four is in San Antonio on April 5 and 7.

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Auburn is a slight favorite over Duke to win the national championship, with Florida and Houston not far behind, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. UConn will make the tournament and try for a threepeat as national champ, something that hasn't been done since the early 1970s, while Big East champion St. John's is back as one of the top teams in the country under veteran coach Rick Pitino.

In picking the top overall seed, the selection committee will have to choose between Duke, with the uncertainty surrounding Flagg and its weaker strength of schedule, and Auburn, a semifinal loser in the SEC Tournament that, nevertheless, is helped by playing in the nation's toughest conference.

Duke on Saturday reassured the NCAA that its best player, Cooper Flagg, would be available for the tournament after sitting out the last two games of the ACC Tournament with an injured ankle. Even without Flagg, Duke defeated Louisville 73-62 to win the title.

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North Carolina won two games in their conference tournaments, and for about a day, they looked securely in. Now, though, they wait.

What the NCAA selection committee decides with those teams will play a role in the history their respective conferences are making - or trying to avoid - this season.

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