The Tar Heels lost to No. 1 Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals, but have won eight of their past 10 games and are playing their best basketball of the season.

North Carolina men's basketball on Friday night cost itself a chance at an ACC championship—and potentially a ticket to the NCAA tournament. Once trailing rival Duke by 24 points, the Tar Heels stormed back in the second half and had a chance to take the lead with 4.

If the Longhorns make it, the Southeastern Conference could place 14 teams in the bracket — which would account for about 1 in 5 of all the March Madness spots and set a record. The old one for a single conference was 11, set by the Big East in 2011.

A sleepy Selection Sunday this was not. North Carolina barely slid into this year’s version of March Madness, a development that led its athletic director to remind everyone that he had nothing to do with that choice even though he’s the head of the group that sets the bracket.