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University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
23-13,13-7ACC
San Diego State (First Four)
21-10,14-6Mountain West
MBB Rolls Past San Diego State In NCAA First Four, 95-68
March 18, 2025 | Men's Basketball
DAYTON, OHIO— No. 11 seed North Carolina played perhaps its best offensive game of the season and cruised to a 95-68 win over fellow No. 11 seed San Diego State in an NCAA Tournament First Four contest on Tuesday night at the UD Arena.
Carolina (23-13) won for the ninth time in 11 games and improved to 8-2 in the NCAA Tournament in four years under head coach Hubert Davis. The Tar Heels advance to the South Region first round to play No. 6 seed Mississippi on Friday at 4:05 p.m. in Milwaukee on TNT.
In the midst of much national discussion and controversy after their selection as one of the last teams in the NCAA field, the Tar Heels justified their bid by building a big first-half lead and putting the game away early, making a statement from the opening tip.
RJ Davis led all scorers with 26 points, hitting all six of his three-point attempts and 8 of 12 shots overall. He tied the UNC program record for most threes in an NCAA Tournament game. Jae'Lyn Withers just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds, while Seth Trimble scored 16 points and Elliot Cadeau had nine points and 12 assists.
"We know we deserved to be here," Trimble said. "We're not looking to send a message to anybody else. We're just looking to compete as a team and be the team that we know that we're capable of being."
UNC improved to 11-1 this season and 32-2 overall under Hubert Davis when scoring 90+ points. Carolina shot a season-best 60.9 percent and drained 7 of 9 three-pointers while building a 47-23 lead at halftime. The lead grew to as many as 40 at 82-42 after the break.
"It doesn't surprise me that they played one of their better games today," Davis said of his team. "It's been a real focused group. You can just — over the last two months, their commitment to team is just continuing to grow. I talked earlier in the year about how quiet this team was, and the voices, the volume of the voices is exactly where it needs to be, whether it's in the huddle, on the bus, on the floor. Just a real connected group right now."
Carolina won its 134th all-time NCAA Tournament game, extending its own record for the most in history. UNC is 33-2 in 35 previous appearances in the round of 64.
UNC built a big lead in the first half by shooting well and stifling the Aztec offense. The Tar Heels led by as many as 24 points before halftime, hitting 60.9 percent of their shots overall including 7 for 9 from three-point range in the first 20 minutes against the team that led the nation in field goal percentage defense entering the game. It was the Tar Heels' best shooting half of the season.
Meanwhile, an active UNC defense limited SDSU to 26.7 percent shooting. Carolina led, 47-23, at the break.
The Aztecs never threatened in a non-competitive second half.
The Tar Heels hit seven three-pointers in each half, hit 21 of 24 free throws and dominated the boards, 39-28. Carolina led for almost 37 minutes of the game, dicing the Aztec defense that had entered the game as one of the nation's best.
How It Happened
First Half
• Carolina started its regular recent lineup of Cadeau, Davis, Drake Powell, Ven-Allen Lubin and Jae'Lyn Withers. That lineup is 8-1 this season.
• Carolina hit 8 of its first 12 shots, including its first four three-pointers, with six assists on its first eight buckets while SDSU missed 12 of its first 17 from the floor.
• After a 20-2 run, UNC led, 33-13, late in the half.
• The Tar Heels shot 60.9 percent overall and hit 7 of 9 three-point tries while holding the Aztecs to 26.7 percent overall and 4 for 16 from behind the arc in the first half.
• Carolina's 47 points were the most allowed by SDSU in a half all season.
Second Half
• UNC never led by fewer than 25 points in the second half.
Up Next
The Tar Heels advance to the South Region first round to play No. 6 seed Mississippi on Friday at 4:05 p.m. in Milwaukee on TNT.
