North Carolina basketball advances to 31st Sweet 16

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

North Carolina basketball coach Hubert Davis has the Tar Heels pointed to the program's 35th Sweet 16 berth after beating Michigan State 85-69 March 23 at Spectrum Center.

It took North Carolina a while to find its footing against Michigan State.

It was all eyes on the Sweet 16 once they did — and the Tar Heels are headed to the school’s 35th Sweet 16. Trailing 17-7 early, North Carolina appeared to have met their match. Then, thanks to a 17-0 run and a 23-3 outburst to close the half, the Tar Heels found their stride and didn’t look back in an 85-69 win.

“We started to compete,” North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said. “They punched first. 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 and second-chance opportunities. Defensively they were pushing us off our screens, our spots. They were just playing better than us.”

Davis challenged the Tar Heels to play more physical against the Spartans, who were outworking his team.

“We came into the huddle and said, look, ‘We can't talk about any basketball stuff until we join the fight,’” Davis said. “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.”

After missing last year’s tournament, the Tar Heels are back in the Sweet 16, but for Davis, it doesn’t make it any more special.

“I appreciate every moment,” he said. “I appreciate the sunny days and the cloudy days. I've said this a number of times there's a reason for all seasons, and He’s the reason for all seasons, and I mean Jesus, and those reasons are good. Regardless if it’s a sunny or a cloudy day.”

Davis felt North Carolina’s schedule helped prepare the Tar Heels for Michigan State’s physicality. They faced several tournament teams as part of their nonconference slate, including Tennessee and Connecticut.

“Michigan State is always Michigan State,” Davis said. “It’s extremely well coached. I can’t have any more respect for a coach than I have for coach [Tom] Izzo. His program, the way he runs his program, the type of teams, the way that they play. We knew what we were getting today. But in terms of moving forward, I wouldn’t say just today, but for the whole year. If you look at our nonconference schedule, it was real. Then you get into conference, and we were able to win the regular season ACC title.”

Davis feels the pieces are coming together at the right time. After getting several players in the transfer portal in the offseason, he likes where the Tar Heels are situated going into the next round.

“You never really know until they step foot on campus,” he said. “But, as soon as [the transfers and freshmen] got on campus from the start this team has wanted and has enjoyed being a team. They just enjoy genuinely being together.

“I think we have really good chemistry. We'll see how much further we can go.”

This article is updated to correct the number of Sweet 16 berths for North Carolina basketball.

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