UNC basketball earned a No. 1 seed for the 2024 NCAA Tournament and will face No. 16 Howard or Wagner on Thursday in Charlotte as part of the West Region. The game will be televised on CBS/TNT/TBS/truTV.

The Tar Heels (27-7) won the ACC regular-season championship before losing to NC State in the title game of the ACC Tournament. After missing the 2023 NCAA Tournament, UNC is a No. 1 seed in March Madness for the 18th time, which is the most in men’s college basketball history.

“I'm just really excited for the guys. We're a number one seed because of the work this team has done this season. I’m a proud of how they have worked all season, how they've played, how they have prepared and how from the start of the season they have wanted to be a team," UNC coach Hubert Davis said in a school-issued statement.

"To be given an opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament is a big deal. I know the importance of being able to play close to home, so playing in Charlotte for potentially the first two rounds and being closer to our fans is a big deal for us, but it's just fun coming into the tournament.”

The last time North Carolina was in the tournament, it advanced to the 2022 NCAA championship game and lost to Kansas. RJ Davis, the ACC Player of the Year, and veteran big man Armando Bacot were on that squad.

UNC or Howard/Wagner will face No. 8 Mississippi State or No. 9 Michigan State  in Saturday's second round at the Spectrum Center, home of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets. Caleb Love, a former Tar Heel, and No. 2 Arizona are in the West Region.

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Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter. 

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC basketball’s March Madness opponent in NCAA Tournament