Tar Heels Push Past Spartans, 85-69, Into Sweet 16

Saturday, March 23

Charlotte, N.C.

5:45 PM

North Carolina

29-7,17-3ACC

Michigan State (Second Round)

20-15,10-10Big Ten

Michigan St.

North Carolina

Harrison Ingram

Photo by: Maggie Hobson

March 23, 2024 | Men's Basketball

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By: Matt Bowers

CHARLOTTE — Top-seeded North Carolina got strong games from Harrison Ingram, Armando Bacot and RJ Davis and pulled away from No. 9 seed Michigan State, 85-69, in the NCAA Tournament West Region second round on Saturday in the Spectrum Center.

With the victory, the Tar Heels (29-7) move on to next week's NCAA West Regional. UNC will play the winner of Sunday's game between Alabama and Grand Canyon on Thursday March 28 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Carolina trailed by as many as 12 points early on Saturday before finishing the first half on a 23-3 run to take control and a nine-point lead at intermission. Michigan State (20-15) rallied to pull within two points in the opening minutes of the second half before another big Tar Heel run put the game out of reach.

"They punched first," UNC head coach Hubert Davis said. "Their physicality, their will, their want to, the first 10 minutes of the game just overwhelmed us. They were catching the ball wherever they wanted to, close to the basket on the block. They were getting layups, second-chance opportunities. Defensively they were pushing us off our screens, our spots. They were just playing better than us.

"We came into the huddle and said, 'Look, we can't talk about any basketball stuff until we join the fight.' Once that started, the level of play in terms of the energy and effort, the attention to detail rose. Then that's when things started to change."

Ingram tied his career high with five three-pointers, finishing with 17 points and seven rebounds while draining five of seven from behind the arc. Davis led UNC with 20 points, and Bacot had 18 points and seven rebounds.

"Harrison actually told me yesterday that he was going to put on a big-time performance today," Bacot said. "In games like this when it gets real rowdy and physical and it's in the trenches, we know it's a Harry type of game. There was no doubt in our mind he would show up big time for us and hit big-time shots. The way he defended was amazing for us, and we don't win that without him."

UNC improved to 25-8 in the NCAA round of 32 since the field to expanded to 64 teams in 1985. Carolina is 14-1 in NCAA Tournament games in Charlotte and has won 133 Tournament games, most in history.

The Tar Heels spotted the Spartans a 12-point lead at 26-14 with 9:37 to go until halftime but closed the first half on a 23-3 run over the final 7:58 to lead, 40-31, at the break. At one point, UNC outscored MSU, 17-0. It was Carolina's best run in the NCAA Tournament since going on a 19-0 run in the 2011 East Region Semifinal against Marquette.

Cormac Ryan scored 14 points for UNC, hitting a pair of three-pointers and going 5 for 5 at the free throw line. Charlotte native Jae'Lyn Withers chipped in four points and four rebounds, and Seth Trimble was valuable once again defensively with two blocked shots in 18 minutes off the bench.

How It Happened
First Half
• The Spartans started hot and built a 17-7 lead in the first seven minutes as Carolina shot poorly in the opening minutes.
• After Carolina pulled within four at 18-14, the Spartans went on an 8-0 run in under a minute to increase their lead to 12 at 26-14 with fewer than 10 minutes to go until halftime.
• Michigan State hit 11 of its first 17 shots (64.7 percent) but missed 7 of its last 8 to finish at 48 percent in the half.
• Ingram hit a three-pointer in the final 10 seconds as the Tar Heels finished the first half on a 23-3 run in the final eight minutes.
• UNC hit six of its last nine three-point attempts.

Second Half
• Michigan State started the second half on a tear, hitting six of eight shots in one stretch to tighten the deficit to within two points, but the Tar Heel defense eventually wore down the Spartans.
• The Tar Heels ground out a 14-2 run to expand their lead to 76-59.
• Carolina limited MSU to 41.2 percent shooting in the second half and built its biggest lead in the game's final minutes.

Postgame Tidbits & Notes
• Carolina is a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for a record 18th time and is 65-12 as a top seed.
• The Tar Heels are 13-3 against No. 9 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
• UNC is 133-49 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. The 133 wins are the most by any school in NCAA Tournament history.
• Carolina is 168-27 all-time in Charlotte, including an 18-2 record in the Spectrum Center.
• UNC is 14-1 in the NCAA Tournament in Charlotte and 36-2 in NCAA Tournament games in the state of North Carolina.
• Saturday's game was the sixth between UNC and Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament and first since the 2009 national championship game won by the Tar Heels in Detroit.
• It was a special game for Tar Heel graduate student guard Paxson Wojcik, whose father, Doug, is a longtime assistant coach at Michigan State under Tom Izzo and was a UNC assistant under Matt Doherty from 2000-03.
• Carolina is 6-0 in NCAA play against the Spartans and 13-4 overall.
• Including Saturday's win, UNC has won 17 of its last 18 games when leading at halftime and is 57-6 under head coach Hubert Davis when leading at the break.
• The Tar Heels forced 11 MSU turnovers while committing just five miscues, tying their season low. The five turnovers are the fewest in an NCAA Tournament game since UNC committed four vs. Gonzaga in the 2017 championship.
• Four Tar Heels scored in double figures. UNC is 20-1 this season when four or more score in double figures.

Up Next
Carolina advances to next Thursday's NCAA Sweet 16 matchup against Grand Canyon or Alabama in Los Angeles. The NCAA will announce game time and TV information either late Sunday night or early Monday.

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