Tar Heels boost NCAA hopes with key Quad 1 win

North Carolina’s hopes for an NCAA Tournament berth became even more tenuous after a loss to Pittsburgh.

Before last week, the Tar Heels had no real marquee wins, but also no bad losses. They put one in the negative column with Wednesday’s 76-67 home loss to the Panthers, who are 170th in the NET rankings.

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The Quadrant 4 loss, North Carolina’s first in 18 games against teams from Quads 2-4, surely doomed its NCAA Tournament chances.

Then came Saturday’s 65-57 win Virginia Tech. Finally, after seven tries, a Quad 1 win that put the Tar Heels right back on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

“There have been times as I’ve said before that they’ve been knocked down, they’ve been scarred,” North…