To add to the matter, the tournament selection committee was chaired by North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham, creating more anger among college hoops fans.

North Carolina and San Diego State are set to get their NCAA Tournament runs started Tuesday night when the First Four tips off. This will be North Carolina's second straight NCAA Tournament appearance under Hubert Davis,

Madness picks, predictions, odds for North Carolina vs San Diego State First Four South Region game on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.

North Carolina -- which slotted in as the No. 46 overall seed -- had a higher NET Ranking (36) than West Virginia (51) or Indiana (54), but that didn’t stop a lot of fans from crying foul on social media in regards to Cunningham’s claim that he wasn’t in the room when the decision was made.

Even in the least divisive years, there’s usually at least one semi-debatable inclusion or a seeding issue that seems worth discussing. And then there are some years, like this one, that result in a full-blown controversy — one that could have been easily avoided.