It was an epically disappointing season for the 2022-2023 North Carolina Tar Heels, so watching the 2023 NCAA Tournament hasn't had the edge that it did last year when the Heels reached the national title game. Still, I'm an NCAA tournament junkie and won't let my team's failures to impact watching the greatest event in sports.
With Duke, Virginia and NC State gone, I don't have to worry about our rivals doing any damage. Kentucky is gone too, so that's nice. So with the field pretty much outside of my true hatred, who should I be rooting for? I'll probably just root for the teams in the colorful uniforms because I just want to see a ton more upsets. That won't be the case, however, so I need to settle on someone to pin my hopes on.
16 - MIAMI HURRICANES: Let me say this once and for all: I don't subscribe to the "I jUsT wAnT sOmEoNe FrOm My CoNfErEnCe tO WiN" crap. I spend all season hating the other 14 ACC schools that I'm not going to just start rooting for them because they also wear an ACC patch. Miami is more of a rival to North Carolina in football, but isn't really like that in hoops. Still, I can't pull for a team I've been rooting against all year.
15 - CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS: I won't forget Kendall Marshall's injury in 2012 against Creighton. Thanks for beating State, but I don't ride with you.
14 - UCLA BRUINS: If UCLA is still considered a blue blood, then you automatically root against them.
13 - TEXAS LONGHORNS: As great as North Carolina's history is, we've stunk against Texas. Carolina is just 1-9 against the Horns since 1995. So, no. And Kevin Durant should've been a Tar Heel!!!
12 - UCONN HUSKIES: Let's be honest. UConn has won four national championships since 1999 and the next title puts them just one title behind UNC. We don't want that.
11 - TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS: In some parts of North Carolina, there is a healthy battle between UNC and Tennessee. But Rick Barnes is their head coach and he notoriously got into it with Dean Smith back in the day when Barnes was at Clemson. I do have family who are big Vols fans, so they kinda sit in the middle for me.
10 - ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE: Look, Bama is really, really good, but no one is really rooting for them after all their off the court stuff has surfaced. Plus you don't want to see an SEC win, do you?
9 - ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS: UNC is 7-3 against the Razorbacks all-time ... but that loss to them in the 1995 Final Four still stings.
8 - HOUSTON COUGARS: I don't love nor hate them. I do love Marcus Sasser. Winning the national title would be a bit of a middle finger to the power leagues ... which Houston will join in July.
7 - MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS: Tom Izzo is buddies with Roy Williams and, for the most part, Carolina has fared well against the Spartans in their head-to-head matchups (UNC has won 6 of the last 7). Still, there is that thing where you don't want the Big Ten to succeed, so I can't really root for Michigan State.
6 - GONZAGA BULLDOGS: We beat the Zags for the 2017 championship, and like Izzo, Roy Williams is good friends with Mark Few. Other than them beating us down at Spokane in the woeful 2019-2020 season, there's no real reason to hate Gonzaga.
5 - SAN DIEGO STATE: I mean, what does it hurt? If they lose, it isn't like I was too invested in them.
4 - XAVIER: I live in the Cincinnati area now, and Xavier has been one of the more interesting mid-major to major success stories over the last couple of decades. Nobody really hates Xavier, though Sean Miller brings some ick to the table.
3 - KANSAS STATE WILDCATS: Hey, Bill Guthridge played at Kansas State and was an assistant coach there until Dean Smith added him to Carolina's staff in 1967.
2 - FLORIDA ATLANTIC OWLS: Other than that cringe-worthy dunk attempt at the end of their win against Farleigh Dickinson, what's the reason to hate on them.
1 - PRINCETON TIGERS: The biggest Cinderella but not a reasonable pick to win the national championship. Still, these Tigers are worth pulling for.
So, other than the two epic underdogs, I guess I'm pulling for Kansas State to win the whole thing. Yeah, a Carolina fan rooting for the Kansas. State. Wildcats. Three names I normally wouldn't ever root for come together for my proxy team in 2023.
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