By R.L. Bynum
CHARLOTTE — The return of Harrison Ingram’s sweet jumper has No. 5 North Carolina returning to the Sweet 16.
Ingram scored 17 points and five 3-pointers as the No. 1 seed Tar Heels pulled away to win 85–69 in the second round of the NCAA tournament against No. 9 seed Michigan State in the Spectrum Center.
It was a rugged, physical battle full of trash talk from the Spartans, who did less of that in the second half, probably muttering all the way back to East Lansing about how UNC took the game away from them.
“We’ve been in tough physical matchups, highly competitive competitions like today,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “So, it just continues to build confidence for us moving forward, but not just particularly for this game, but for what we had to do the entire season.”
Ingram had plenty of support as Carolina (29–7) moves on to play Alabama (23–11), which beat Grand Canyon 72–61 on Sunday, at 9:41 p.m. Thursday (CBS) in the West Regional semifinals at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
RJ Davis led four Tar Heels in double figures with 20 points and three 3-pointers, Armando Bacot pitched in 17 points and seven rebounds and Cormac Ryan added 14 points.
“For me, it’s all about team basketball,” said Ingram, who tied his career-high 3-pointer total (also against Duke) and also pulled down seven rebounds, tying Bacot for the team lead. “Today I was open, and they found me and Mondo, RJ, and Elliot [Cadeau], they found me and I was open. Luckily, I was able to hit the shots. For us at UNC, we’re all about the team, and we played together today.
Coming into the game, Ingram had made only six of his previous 27 attempts from 3-point range, but Saturday he made his first four attempts from outside the arc and repeatedly shot down Michigan State’s (20–15) hopes.
“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.”
Cadeau rebounded from a tough NCAA tournament debut to produce a solid floor game with six points, four assists, one block and no turnovers, although he missed all four 3-point attempts.
“I thought his performance, being able to handle the basketball, get us into our sets, his ability offensively to push the pace, it gives RJ a break to get off the ball,” Coach Davis said. “I could just see his confidence continuing to grow, and then he was able to step up.
“I think he had a couple of free throws towards the end,” Davis said. “I thought in the second half he responded defensively really well. I thought he did a really nice job of keeping the guards out of the paint, defending without fouling, and this is all new to him and understanding the importance of every possession on both ends of the floor.
Seth Trimble had impactful minutes off the bench, getting two blocks during one second-half stretch.
“Seth is the best defender in the ACC and one of the best defenders in the country,” RJ Davis said. “Just his impact on the defensive end has been huge for us all year, especially today’s game. I know there were a couple times where, because we have Tyson Walker out there, and Seth had the challenge to go out there and guard him. I think he did a great of making it hard for him, being physical on the catch, getting over screens.”
Walker finished with 24 points to lead the Spartans, with Malik Hall adding 17.
Michigan State made six of its first nine shots in the first six minutes and UNC only 3 of its first 10 as the Spartans jumped to a 10-point lead with an 11–2 run, with UNC helpless to stop the inside moves of Michigan State’s post players.
The Heels cut it to four on a short Jalen Washington jumper, but the Spartans’ lead increased to 12 after back-to-back Tyson Walker 3-pointers in an 8–0 run.
The script flipped with 8½ minutes left after a television time out, after Coach Davis lit into the team. After that time out, an Elliot Cadeau jumper started a run in which UNC outscored Michigan State 26–5 for the rest of the first half.
“We came into the huddle and said, look, we can’t talk about any basketball stuff until we join the fight,” Coach 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.”
Bacot scored eight points and Ingram two 3-pointers as the Tar Heels scored 17 straight points over a 5½-minute stretch, only the fifth time Michigan State has allowed an opponent to score 10 in a row this season.
Ingram’s third 3-pointer of the half, and UNC’s sixth, with eight seconds left in the first half gave the Tar Heels a 40–31 halftime lead as Bacot made more free-throw attempts (7 of 8) than Michigan State (4 of 8). The Spartans scored only three points in the last eight minutes of the first half.
Carolina had no offensive rebounds in the first half and didn’t get its first until Bacot’s follow-up shot with 16:01 left in the game.
Michigan chopped its deficit to two in the first four minutes of the second half, making six of its first eight shots in a 12–3 run. The lead moved back to seven three times, the second on Davis’ banked-in 3-pointer and the third on Withers’ second straight layup with 7:49 left.
Ingram’s fifth 3-pointer and a Jalen Washington slam came during a 14–2 run. UNC’s lead ballooned to 17 on a Davis free throw with 3:27 left.
NOTES — It was UNC’s biggest comeback to win an NCAA tournament game since the Tar Heels’ 74–64 victory over USC in the 2007 East Regional semifinals after trailing by 16. … UNC overcame a double-digit deficit in the NCAA tournament for the first time since Washington led by 11 in a second-round game in Charlotte in 2011. … The 17–0 run in the first half was UNC’s largest in an NCAA tournament game since a 19–0 run vs. Marquette in the Sweet 16 in 2011. … It was the 20th game this season the Tar Heels went on at least one 10-0 run. … It was the fifth time this season UNC went on at least a 17-point run (22 vs. Florida State, 19 vs. Notre Dame, 19 and 17 vs. UC Riverside and 17 vs. Michigan State). … UNC’s five turnovers, equaling the fewest this season (Charleston Southern and vs. Duke at home) and the fewest in the Hubert Davis era. That was the lowest total in an NCAA tournament game since UNC committed four vs. Gonzaga in the 2017 championship. … Carolina advanced to the Sweet 16 for the 16th time as a No. 1 seed but the first time since 2019. … Davis scored a 3-pointer for the 41st consecutive game, tying Marcus Paige for the second-longest streak in program history. … Carolina was outrebounded for the first time since its 81–69 win over Oklahoma on Dec. 20 in the Spectrum Center, losing the board battle 37–32. … UNC has won all six NCAA tournament meetings with Michigan State and leads the all-time series 13–4. … Carolina is 25–8 in the field of 32 since the tournament expanded to 64 in 1985. … UNC is 14–1 in Charlotte and 36–2 in North Carolina in NCAA tournament games.
No. 5 UNC 85, Michigan State 69
West Regional
March 19 First Four result
No. 16 Wagner 71, No. 16 Howard 68
First-round results
Thursday, March 21
No. 9 Michigan State 69, No. 8 Mississippi State 51
No. 1 North Carolina 90, Wagner 62
No. 2 Arizona 85, No. 15 Long Beach State 65
No. 7 Dayton 63, No. 10 Nevada 60
Friday, March 22
No. 4 Alabama 109, No. 13 College of Charleston 96
No. 12 Grand Canyon 75, No. 5 St. Mary’s 66
No. 3 Baylor 92, No. 14 Colgate 67
No. 6 Clemson 77, No. 11 New Mexico 56
Last Saturday’s second-round results
Arizona 78, Dayton 68
North Carolina 85, Michigan State 69
Sunday’s second-round results
Clemson 72, Baylor 64
Alabama 72, Grand Canyon 61
Thursday’s regional semifinals
Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles
Clemson 77, Arizona 72
Alabama 98, North Carolina 87
Saturday’s regional final
Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles
Alabama 89, Clemson 82
| Date | Month/day | Score | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 27 | Friday | W, 117–53 | vs. St. Augustine’s | Exhibition |
| November | ||||
| 6 | Monday | W, 86–70 | vs. Radford | 1–0 |
| 12 | Sunday | W, 90–68 | vs. Lehigh | 2–0 |
| 17 | Friday | W, 77–52 | vs. UC Riverside | 3–0 |
| Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas | ||||
| 22 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | Northern Iowa | 4–0 |
| 23 | Thursday | L, 83–81, OT | Villanova | 4–1 |
| 24 | Friday | W, 87–72 | Arkansas | 5–1 |
| ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | ||||
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 100–92 | vs. No. 6 Tennessee | 6–1 |
| December | ||||
| 2 | Saturday | W, 78–70 | vs. Florida State | 7–1, 1–0 ACC |
| Jimmy V Classic in New York | ||||
| 5 | Tuesday | L, 87–67 | No. 1 Connecticut | 7–2 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 16 | Saturday | L, 87–83 | No. 12 Kentucky | 7–3 |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 20 | Wednesday | W, 81–69 | Oklahoma | 8–3 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 29 | Friday | W, 105–60 | vs. Charleston Southern | 9–3 |
| January | ||||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 70–57 | at Pittsburgh | 10–3, 2–0 ACC |
| 6 | Saturday | W, 65–55 | at Clemson | 11–3, 3–0 ACC |
| 10 | Wednesday | W, 67–54 | at N.C. State | 12–3, 4–0 ACC |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 103–67 | vs. Syracuse | 13–3, 5–0 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 86–70 | vs. Louisville | 14–3, 6–0 ACC |
| 20 | Saturday | W, 76–66 | vs. Boston College | 15–3, 7–0 ACC |
| 22 | Monday | W, 85–64 | vs. Wake Forest | 16–3, 8–0 ACC |
| 27 | Saturday | W, 75–68 | at Florida State | 17–3, 9–0 ACC |
| 30 | Tuesday | L, 74–73 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 9–1 ACC |
| February | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | W, 93–84 | vs. No. 13 Duke | 18–4, 10–1 ACC |
| 6 | Tuesday | L, 80–76 | vs. Clemson | 18–5, 10–2 ACC |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 75–72 | at Miami | 19–5, 11–2 ACC |
| 13 | Tuesday | L, 86–79 | at Syracuse | 19–6, 11–3 ACC |
| 17 | Saturday | W, 96–81 | vs. Virginia Tech | 20–6, 12–3 ACC |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 54–44 | at Virginia | 21–6, 13–3 ACC |
| 26 | Monday | W, 75–71 | vs. Miami | 22–6, 14–3 ACC |
| March | ||||
| 2 | Saturday | W, 79–70 | vs. N.C. State | 23–6, 15–3 ACC |
| 5 | Tuesday | W, 84–51 | vs. Notre Dame | 24–6, 16–3 ACC |
| 9 | Saturday | W, 84–79 | at No. 13 Duke | 25–6, 17–3 ACC |
| ACC tournament Washington | ||||
| 14 | Thursday | W, 92–67 | Quarterfinals: Florida State | 26–6 |
| 15 | Friday | W, 72–65 | Semifinals: Pittsburgh | 27–6 |
| 16 | Saturday | L, 84–76 | Final: N.C. State | 27–7 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 21 | Thursday | W, 90–62 | First round in Charlotte: Wagner | 28–7 |
| 23 | Saturday | W, 85–69 | Second round in Charlotte: Michigan State | 29–7 |
| 28 | Thursday | L, 89–87 | Sweet 16 in Los Angeles: No. 19 Alabama | 29–8 |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
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