UNC's path to Final Four appears less daunting amid upsets

CHAPEL HILL

When the NCAA tournament field was announced a week ago, on Selection Sunday, you could have made the argument – and I did – that North Carolina, the top seed in the East Region, had the most difficult path of any No. 1 seed to reach the Final Four.

There was the potential game against Kentucky, the No. 4 seed, in the regional semifinals. Xavier, the No. 2 seed, and West Virginia, the No. 3, were lurking in the bottom half of the bracket. And then, one week later, there were none of those teams.

The Tar Heels are in for a significant challenge against Indiana, the No. 5 seed, on Friday in the semifinals. That much is clear. And yet the East has opened up, too, and the Tar Heels are…