Bottom line -- Chris Dufresne

Note to most first- and second-round NCAA tournament airline passengers: You must place all liquids in a separate plastic bag going through security!

This does not apply to top-seeded North Carolina, which won’t have to get on a plane until the Final Four in San Antonio.

With the way it all sets up for the 18-Heelers, CBS ought to call this the Tobacco Road to the Final Four.

Raleigh for the first two games and then Charlotte for the regional?

When will the student-athletes get time to rest?

Here’s Carolina’s virtual ticket-punch to the Alamo: Board bus to Raleigh on Thursday, pulverize play-in winner (Mount St. Mary’s or 20-loss Coppin State) on Friday. Make sure to get plenty of rest Saturday to account for “bus-lag” and possible sea-level sickness. Second round on Sunday involves a dissection of either No. 8 Indiana, which has a couple of terrific players in Eric Gordon and D.J. White but is still breaking in a new coach, or No. 9 Arkansas.

We heard a lot about No. 2 Tennessee during the regular season, about how the Vols were all this and all that. Tuned in the Southeastern title game Sunday to see what the fuss was about only to discover Tennessee wasn’t even in the title game. The teams involved were Georgia and Arkansas. Georgia didn’t have a record you’d brag about and had to play two games in one day on Saturday. What kind of league is this?

If Tennessee really is as good as they say, the Vols appear headed for a regional semifinal showdown against No. 3 Louisville. The East, though, is all headed toward a head-butt against the cigarette butts: Carolina.

They used to joke that legendary Tar Heels coach Dean Smith was the only person who could hold Michael Jordan to under 20. Seems the only thing that can stop North Carolina this year is a flat tire or a bus strike.

--

chris.dufresne@latimes.com