Off the cuff: Hopefully the Tar Heels saved a little bit for the next game but they sure proved a point - although to a man they say they weren't trying to send a message with the dominating performance in the First Four "play-in" game in Dayton, Ohio.

Basketball analyst Seth Davis, who went to Duke and joined a chorus of sports experts in decrying Carolina's at-large bid into the tournament, changed his tune a bit after the big win over San Diego State.

Speaking to the camera as if it were the UNC team he said, "You proved your point emphatically and you should feel good about it."

Seth Greenberg, former ACC coach and now analyst, was very outspoken against Carolina getting a bid. But then on Tuesday, he predicted a UNC victory in this game and in the next against Ole Miss. Crazy that these guys don't think Carolina is good enough to make the tournament but they are good enough to make it to the Sweet 16.

Maybe that's it. Pushing the Quad 1 nonsense incessantly, they have to say Carolina shouldn't get in because the Heels might actually make some noise. Then there are just the Carolina haters you can't reason with.

Jalen Rose, one of the CBS basketball analysts, seems to be one of them. He was upset that Carolina got a bid too and he went so far as to say it wouldn't matter because San Diego State would take care of the Tar Heels. At halftime, he looked like a deer in headlights.

There are plenty of Carolina lovers out there too. "The atmosphere was awesome," Seth Trimble said. "Our fans were here. In March we feel that we have the home fans no matter where we are."

Former Villanova coach Jay Wright seems to like Carolina. He spoke glowingly about the Tar Heels playing with pride in the Carolina program.

The whole uproar against Carolina was really silly. The Quad discussion has overshadowed everything. I think they should drop the whole Quad discussions. No, Carolina didn't beat Alabama or Auburn or Duke or Florida or Michigan State. These are top seeds in the tournament - a lot of teams wouldn't have beaten them.

For the most part, Carolina beat everyone they should have beaten and lost to teams ranked higher than them. Using more in-depth analytics than how they played against a top team in November, the KenPom ratings have the Tar Heels as the 33rd best team in the country. They certainly should be in a tournament that has 68 entrants.

The teams that are most angry about not making the tournament seem to be West Virginia and Indiana. Those teams went 5-5 down the stretch - compared to 8-2 for Carolina including losses to Duke. WVU lost its final game to a 19-loss team. Indiana is ranked 48th in the KenPom ratings while WVU is 53rd, both well below the Tar Heels.

In the NET rankings, that the NCAA selection committee also uses, the Tar Heels are 36th while West Virginia is 51st - below Wes Miller's Cincinnati team. Yet they are talking about suing the NCAA. Carolina's win probably puts a crimp into that lawsuit.

So, in review, Carolina had more overall wins than the other contenders, are higher ranked and were playing better at the end of the season.

Not to get too political, the uproar reminds me of Trump Derangement Syndrome. The vitriol directed at UNC was off the charts. Social media posters saying wild things like it doesn't matter if Carolina wins the tournament, they didn't deserve to be in the tournament. Huh?

They first say that Carolina didn't deserve to get a bid and they were going to get killed in the tournament but now that they weren't killed they're saying they still shouldn't be in the tournament. So, we don't want the best teams in the tournament? It's more like we should never have known Carolina is one of the best teams.

After an up-and-down year, it's strange to say but if they can keep playing like that, they are one of the best teams.

At the very least, as former Carolina great Tyler Zeller said on the radio after the game, "I think they showed they belong tonight."

Now, can the Tar Heels keep it up against Ole Miss?