The ACC Tournament bracket layout makes it absolutely certain that North Carolina must make the final to have any possible at-large bubble chance

North Carolina is squarely on the bubble and it likely needs a big week in the ACC Tournament to get to the Big Dance.

Cole Cloer, a lifelong Tar Heel enthusiast, became the first UNC basketball offer recipient on the 2026 recruiting trail last May. And in early January, the Caldwell Academy (N.C.) forward listed Hubert Davis and his staff among his most active suitors.