‘Focused’ Heels stomp Aztecs, critics in First 4

• Adam RittenbergMar 19, 2025, 12:04 AM ET Close College football press reporter; signed up with ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.DAYTON, Ohio– From

the minute North Carolina lost to Duke in Friday’s ACC competition semifinal, anxiety started to develop, just as it would for any NCAA competition bubble team.Would the Tar Heels make the field or fall short

, as lots of bracketologists had forecasted?” From Friday night after Duke to Sunday around 6 o’clock, we just had no concept,”UNC guard Seth Trimble said.The answer came Sunday. North Carolina, in spite of a 1-12 record versus Quadrant

1 challengers, was in the competition, the last group to get a berth. The Heels were an unpopular selection, and the criticism around their inclusion reached some of the players.But the two days that followed the selections brought various emotions than the 2 days that preceded them.”As quickly as we saw Sunday evening that we were the 11th seed in Dayton, we understood it was go time,”Trimble said.

“So, we dropped it right away. We were able to drop our nerves and jitters and able to play a great game as a team.” North Carolina didn’t merely play an excellent game however a historic and dominant one, crushing San Diego State 95-68

at UD Arena. The Heels advanced in the South Area, where they will deal with No. 6 seed Ole Miss on Friday afternoon in Milwaukee.They left nothing to opportunity, pulling away with an early 20-2 run and more than doubling the Aztecs ‘point overall at halftime(47-23 ). North Carolina struck 14 3-pointers

, its most in an NCAA tournament game given that the 3-point line became main in 1986-87. Senior guard RJ Davis became the first Heels player to go 6-of-6 on 3-pointers in an NCAA competition game, exceeding the record of 5-for-5 set by former

UNC star and current coach Hubert Davis against Eastern Michigan in 1991. Sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau’s 12 assists tied Davis and Kenny Smith for second most by a UNC player in an NCAA tourney tilt considering that helps ended up being authorities in 1984. Men’s Competition Challenge Register now to play the # 1 Male’s bracket game for FREE!$

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