North Carolina Behind Schedule After Travel Issues Cause Late Arrival for First Four

The Tar Heels are scheduled to play San Diego State Tuesday.
Hubert Davis's team will be behind the eight-ball Tuesday.
Hubert Davis's team will be behind the eight-ball Tuesday. / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

As controversy swirls about its selection for the men's NCAA tournament, North Carolina appears to be having trouble just getting there.

The Tar Heels' flight was delayed out of Raleigh–Durham International Airport Monday afternoon, according to a Monday afternoon report from Luke DeCock of The (Raleigh) News & Observer.

“North Carolina’s press conference and practice will be delayed due to travel issues,” the NCAA said in a statement via DeCock; both of those events were scheduled to take place in the early evening.

The No. 11 Tar Heels are scheduled to play No. 11 San Diego State in the First Four Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio. The winner will play Ole Miss in the first round Friday afternoon.

North Carolina, the last team in the field, saw its selection met with considerable blowback—and if it wants to shut the doubters up, it will have a tall task ahead of it.


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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .