Off the cuff: Yes, it's unlikely that Carolina would have beaten Virginia without Armando Bacot, who was hobbled throughout the game and didn't play the last 15 minutes of the game. But why is that?

Sure, he's an All-ACC first teamer but Carolina still could have beaten Virginia had Coach Davis developed depth throughout the season and if the Tar Heels could hit three pointers.

The Tar Heels went small or sparingly played Jalen Washington, who played very little during the season. There was little to no post presence as a result of Bacot being on the bench.

Going into the game, Coach Davis wanted to play inside-out, meaning getting it inside to a big man (i.e. Bacot) and either getting a basket inside or punching it out for an open shot.

That couldn't happen without developed talent in the post. Still, the Heels could have won that game had they hit three pointers. Maybe they didn't have as many open threes in this game as they did against Boston College, but they got some open shots. You also have to create shots that may be contested.

R.J. Davis was four of eight from three but the rest of the team was four of 19.

It was a maddening season because of the lack of consistency. No Carolina fan can be happy about it.

Still, the Tar Heels won 20 games and had a winning record in the ACC regular season. That has forever been enough to make the NCAA Tournament.

Under this crazy Net/Quad process for entry into the NCAAs, if Carolina had beaten Alabama in the 4OT game back in November, the Heels would likely be in the NCAA Tournament.

N.C. State, which split with Carolina, is considered one of the last four in but the Pack would likely be in a similar situation as the Heels had they not beaten Miami in overtime in January.

None of this makes sense. If a team is great in December and you beat them, it's a Quad 1 win but if that same team loses its best player and crumbles, it's no longer a Quad 1 win.

We were told by ESPN's Joe Lunardi that even if Carolina beat Virginia, they wouldn't move up into his projected field. One of the reasons why? Beating Virginia may have moved the Cavaliers from a Quad 1 team to a Quad 2 team and then the win Carolina got over them in February when they were a Quad 1 team would now be a Quad 2 victory.

Carolina would have gone from three Quad 1 wins - Ohio State and Virginia twice - to no Quad 1 wins. Insane stuff.

If they are going to stick with that system, the Quad wins should stay the same throughout the season. A team can be really good when you play them and then fall off for whatever reason. That shouldn't take away from your beating a really good team.

Anyway, it looks unlikely that the Tar Heels will make the NCAA Tournament.

"Our record is our record," UNC coach Hubert Davis said. "I think regardless of our record, I think we have shown throughout the entire year that we can compete and play and beat anybody in the country."

That's true, which is one reason Carolina fans are so frustrated. "I know that we played a really tough non-conference schedule," Coach Davis said. "I know that the ACC for whatever reason is undervalued as one of the elite if not the elite conference in college basketball, and still trying to understand -- I understand the Quad -- it could be a Quad 1 win in November, but in March it's not. But at the end of the day, we had chances. For eight or nine of the 13 losses that we had, we were up in the second half. So we had our chances."

If the Heels aren't chosen, should they go to the NIT? It would give young guys some playing time and could give the veterans a better taste in their mouths. But if they don't really go to win it, they may as well stay home.

I will say that I'd rather win the NIT than lose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament - which is something that will likely happen to at least one ACC team.