Statement win: UNC basketball dominates SD State in First Four, advances to face Ole Miss

The game wasn’t over when R.J. Davis pounded his chest after hitting a long 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer to put North Carolina up 24.

The debate might have been. The game soon followed.

The Tar Heels didn’t need to embarrass San Diego State to prove they belonged to be in the NCAA tournament, but their 95-68 win Tuesday night in the First Four certainly doesn’t hurt, and it may help silence some of the over-the-top criticism that surrounded North Carolina’s entry into the field in the first place.

“We’re not really worried about that,” North Carolina’s Ven-Allen Lubin said. “We’re worried about us. We have a lot of work to do and we’re on a mission. We’re not worried about outside critics.”

One of the biggest wins of their post-Clemson resurgence was more than enough to advance the Tar Heels to the first round, where North Carolina (23-13) will face sixth-seeded Mississippi in Milwaukee at 4 p.m. Friday.

Davis had 26 points, tied North Carolina’s NCAA tournament record for 3-pointers with six — Caleb Love twice, Marcus Paige, Shammond Williams — and broke the record for perfect long-range shooting held by his coach. Hubert Davis was 5-for-5 against Eastern Michigan in 1991.

“It was in the Meadowlands, and it was a tight game in the second half,” Hubert Davis said. “And then somebody elbowed Eric Montross, and we got upset, and then I think we ended up winning by 20 or 30.”

Elliot Cadeau had 12 assists and Lubin, Seth Trimble and Jae’Lyn Withers all joined R.J. Davis in double figures, with Withers posting a double-double. Cadeau came up a point short. The 14 3-pointers were an NCAA tournament record as well for UNC.

Even a hurried Ian Jackson 3 late in the game banked off the glass and in as the shot clock expired. North Carolina could do no wrong. Trimble and other players ended up signing autographs on towels for kids behind the bench during the final few minutes.

“They kept screaming and I can’t just ignore the little kids,” Trimble said. “I wanted to wait until after the game but they kept going.”

Just another Quadrant 2 win for the Tar Heels. When are they going to prove they belong?

North Carolina’s inclusion, as the last at-large team into the field, sparked controversy because of the Tar Heels’ dismal 1-12 record in what the NCAA refers to as Quadrant 1 games, against tougher opponents, as well as UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham’s position as chairman of the NCAA selection committee.

A UNC fan even wore a homemade shirt reading “The 104k Bubba Cunningham Advantage,” referring to Cunningham’s bonus for his team making the NCAA tournament. It also had a Jordan Brand logo, naturally.

Not that one game should be a referendum on the process — no more than it was when Virginia no-showed against Colorado State last year — but the Tar Heels left no doubt on the court, with their ninth win in 11 games, and the seventh of those by double digits.

It’s hard to imagine them making a more convincing case than they did Tuesday in this battle of No. 11 seeds, making shots from everywhere, crashing the boards and playing stifling defense — basically, what they have done to everyone they have played except Duke since early February.

After the Hail Mary heroics of Alabama State to beat St. Francis (Pa.) in the early game, it was a bit of a damp squib in the nightcap, not that the Tar Heels were complaining.

North Carolina also dropped San Diego State to 0-7 all-time against the Triangle with an NCAA elimination trifecta, the Aztecs having been bounced by Duke (2015) and N.C. State (2012). North Carolina’s two previous wins over the Aztecs came when North Carolina coach Hubert Davis was playing, in 1988 and 1990.

The last time the Tar Heels were in Dayton, they were steamrolled by history in a second-round loss to George Mason that cut their national-title defense short. In 2006, Jim Larranaga, (current GMU head coach) Tony Skinn and the 11th-seeded Patriots upset No. 3 seed North Carolina in the second round en route to the Final Four and an eventual loss to national champion Florida.

Tuesday, North Carolina started a little unevenly with six early turnovers, but avoided any damage by making its first five 3-point attempts, including two from Withers. A 20-2 run midway through the first period all but put the game away. North Carolina never led by fewer than 18 after that.

Davis maintained he wasn’t trying to prove a point, but he certainly played like it.

“That’s R.J. He’s seen every level in college,” Jackson said. “He’s seen the lows, the highs, he knows what it takes to win at this level this time of year. Him going out there and being able to put on a performance, especially in this kind of setting, in the First Four, it’s huge for us.”

Altogether, it was a commanding performance that showcased the Tar Heels at their other-than-Duke best, one that will certainly force Ole Miss to pay attention ahead of their first-round matchup.

That was the real reward. Silencing North Carolina’s sudden and surprisingly fervid army of critics was just a bonus, as the Tar Heels move on to the tournament proper, no committee needed.

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This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 11:37 PM with the headline "Statement win: UNC basketball dominates SD State in First Four, advances to face Ole Miss."

Luke DeCock

The News & Observer

Luke DeCock is a former journalist for the News & Observer.