Tar Heels Roll Over Wagner Into NCAA 2nd Round

Thursday, March 21

Charlotte, N.C.

2:45 PM

North Carolina

28-7,17-3ACC

Wagner (First Round)

17-16,7-9NEC

Wagner

North Carolina

Armando Bacot tallied his 86th career double-double.

Photo by: Maggie Hobson

March 21, 2024 | Men's Basketball

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By: Matt Bowers

CHARLOTTE—Armando Bacot provided the power inside as top-seeded North Carolina led from start to finish and wore down No. 16 seed Wagner, 90-62, in the NCAA Tournament West Region first round on Thursday afternoon in the Spectrum Center.

Bacot posted his 86th career double-double before halftime and finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds against a Wagner team without the size or bulk to defend him. Bacot has double-doubles in seven consecutive NCAA Tournament games and 15+ rebounds in six straight NCAA contests.

"It's win or go home," Bacot said. "If you lose, you go home. It's just one of those things that's an even more sense of urgency to just go out there and play my best. All years we've worked to get to this point. So just super locked in and trying to win."

RJ Davis scored 17 second-half points to finish with 22, hitting 4 of 7 three-pointers. Jae'Lyn Withers played his best game of the season for the Tar Heels, tallying a season-high 16 points while tying his season high with 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the year.

"Jae Whit, his energy and effort on both ends of the floor really ignited us and got us the lead going into halftime," UNC head coach Hubert Davis said of Withers. "He came off the bench, and his production was real."

The win sends the Tar Heels (28-7) into the NCAA second round on Saturday against Michigan State, which beat Mississippi State, 69-51, in an earlier first-round game on Thursday in Charlotte.

UNC improved to 33-2 all-time in the NCAA round of 64 and 14-1 in NCAA Tournament games in Charlotte. Carolina has won 132 Tournament games, most in NCAA history.

UNC shot well in the early going and started to pull away in the latter portions of the opening 20 minutes, grinding down the undermanned Seahawks, who had only seven available players in uniform. Carolina dominated inside, posting a 25-14 rebounding edge while shooting 51.9 percent in the half while holding Wagner to 32.4 percent before the break.

It was more of the same in the second half as Carolina built its lead to as many as 30 points in the final minutes.

As a team, UNC dominated points in the paint (48-20), bench points (26-6) and rebounding (43-24).

How It Happened
First Half
• Other than an early bloody nose suffered by RJ Davis, the Tar Heels got off to a good start.
• Bacot asserted himself inside from the beginning of the game, recording eight points and four rebounds as Carolina hit 5 of its first 6 shots before the first media timeout.
• Wagner kept things tight for much of the first half by forcing four early turnovers despite the Tar Heels asserting their will in the opening nine minutes by shooting 7 for 8 with a 9-2 rebounding advantage.
• UNC used a 7-0 run to take its biggest lead at 40-26 in the final 90 seconds, holding the Seahawks scoreless for over three minutes.
• The Tar Heel defense limited Wagner to 32.4% shooting in the first half, the sixth time this season a UNC opponent has shot below 33.3% from the field in a first half.
• Withers had a huge half, pitching in 10 points, five boards and 6 of 9 free throws in an active nine minutes off the bench.

Second Half
• Carolina continued to shoot well in the second half and never let the Seahawks have a chance to threaten.
• The lead grew to as many as 30 in the final minutes at 88-58.

Postgame Tidbits & Notes
• Carolina is a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for a record 18th time and is 64-12 as a top seed.
• UNC is 132-49 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. The 132 wins are the most by any school in NCAA Tournament history.
• The Tar Heels improved to 33-2 in the NCAA Round of 64 (only losses in 1999 and 2021).
• Carolina is 167-27 all-time in Charlotte, including a 17-2 record in the Spectrum Center.
• UNC is 13-1 in the NCAA Tournament in Charlotte and 35-2 in NCAA Tournament games in the state of North Carolina.
• Thursday was the first-ever meeting between UNC and Wagner.
• The Seahawks had just seven available players in uniform for the game.

Up Next
Carolina advances to Saturday's NCAA second round against Michigan State in Charlotte at 5:30 p.m. on CBS.

Follow Tar Heel basketball on X at @UNC_Basketball and @UNCMBBstats and on Instagram at UNC_Basketball.