The North Carolina Tar Heels were one of the last teams to sneak into the men’s March Madness tournament bracket on an at-large bid.Their inclusion in the tournament field—which, inherently, meant the exclusion of another team—raised flags and critiques from figures inside and outside of the world of college basketball.

Sort of like San Diego State’s basketball team in the same city 147 years later. Hit its ceiling. And crashed. The team that began the season by losing all-conference guard Reese Waters for its entirety and instead stuttered along with one of college basketball’s youngest rotations that included six freshmen or sophomores experienced the power of gravity Tuesday night in the NCAA Tournament’s First Four,