Bracketology 2023: 10 teams that MUST win on Thursday to avoid NIT

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 22: Armando Bacot #5 of the North Carolina Tar Heels high fives teammates against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first half at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center on February 22, 2023 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

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Clemson junior guard Chase Hunter Brevin Galloway Clemson Basketball Vs Penn State University Acc Big 10 Challenge /

Clemson Tigers – vs NC State

Being a 3 seed in the ACC Tournament should mean that you’re safe but it’s clear that the Tigers need several big wins this week to have a shot. They have three Quad 4 losses on its resume. including the ultimate sin committed is losing to 4-win Louisville. And with the ACC being down overall, they simply didn’t have the signature wins at the moment.

Today will help, taking on an NC State squad that dropped 90+ points in a blowout win over darkhorse favorite, Virginia Tech. Clemson may just have the matchup edge, sweeping the Wolfpack in the regular season that includes a recent 25-point blowout win of its own. A loss guarantees the NIT for the Tigers so they have to win to stay alive.

North Carolina Tar Heels – vs Virginia

The Tar Heels are in a similar spot to Clemson from a Bracketology standpoint but for different reasons. UNC has no Quad 3/4 losses but just one Quad 1 victory to this point, compared to nine losses. The lack of big wins has hurt them greatly but they do have one against Virginia at home to even keep them on the bubble.

UNC hopes to get another big win against the Cavaliers in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. There’s a chance that they need to get the autobid at this point but if they do beat UVA, it’ll be interesting to see where that puts them in projections. Because if they both win in the bottom half of the bracket, that could set up a future elimination between UNC and Clemson in the semifinals.

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