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Lunardi Has Shocking UNC Update in Latest Bracketology

Originally posted on North Carolina Tar Heels on SI
By Caleb Meadows | Last updated Jan 28, 2026 1:00 PM ET

North Carolina is coming off one of its best weeks of the season. They dominated Notre Dame and won on the road against Virginia in a comeback. This propelled them from the bottom half of the ACC to the top six.

Last week, Joe Lunardi had the Tar Heels as a sixth seed in his Bracketology projection. After a tremendous week, the fan base was clamoring to see where the Tar Heels would end up in the latest Bracketology.

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Here is where UNC currently stands in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology.

UNC remains a 6 seed

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The Tar Heels' victory over the Cavaliers was over the No. 14-ranked team in the nation at the time and classified as a Quad 1 win. Naturally, UNC fans expected to rise in seeding. Unfortunately, that is not the reality, as Lunardi kept the Tar Heels as a sixth seed in his latest Bracketology.

Tar Heels must impress Lunardi

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This means that UNC has to prove itself again, which is understandable. The Tar Heels lost three games and escaped with a win over Wake Forest in the month of January. Although they had a great showing last week, Lunardi needs to see more of that to move them up.

UNC will have one more shot to impress Lunardi before the month is over. They will travel to Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday, Jan. 31, to take on Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets are one of the bottom teams in the conference. This game will not necessarily boost the Tar Heels' ranking. It can hurt UNC’s ranking significantly, though, if they lose.

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The rest of the month is about staying afloat in the rankings and hoping some teams above UNC lose.

Potential undeafted opponent

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As of now, the Tar Heels would have the most difficult six vs. 11 seed matchup. Lunardi has the Tar Heels taking on the undefeated Miami (Ohio). The RedHawks are one of the last two remaining undefeated teams in college basketball, with a 21-0 record. This would be a very unfortunate draw for UNC.

It is still early, so things could change by the day, but it is interesting to look ahead and see teams that are in line to potentially play the Tar Heels in March. Hopefully, this gives UNC extra motivation to stay rolling and rise in the rankings to avoid a team that is absolutely on fire in the RedHawks.