DAYTON, Ohio — RJ Davis scored 26 points and went 6-of-6 from 3-point range to help North Carolina silence some skeptics with a dominant 95-68 victory over San Diego State in a First Four matchup Tuesday night.
Davis’ six 3-pointers tied Caleb Love‘s program record for an NCAA tournament game. Love had six against UCLA in 2022. Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis went 5 for 5 from deep against Eastern Michigan in 1991.
The 14 made 3-pointers were the most for North Carolina in an NCAA tournament game. The Tar Heels hit 13 against Marquette in 2022.
Seth Trimble had 16 points for North Carolina in a matchups of No. 11 seeds.
“We did a good job sticking to our game plan and playing Carolina basketball,” Davis said. “We got out in transition and we shared the ball and that’s what got us going. Everyone contributed in so many ways and I just think our defense really set the tone for the remainder of the game.”
The Tar Heels were a controversial selection for the tournament, and they played like a team with something to prove. While they traveled to Dayton on Monday, airwaves were filled with critics pointing at North Carolina as the team that least deserved a bid.
At the core of most of those criticisms, was West Virginia (19-13), which was snubbed by the tournament committee despite having six Quad 1 wins this season. It lost its opening game in the Big 12 tournament to last-place Colorado last week, and the news got worse Sunday.
Meanwhile, North Carolina shot 61% in the first half and went 7-of-9 from 3-point range. Davis’ long 3 just before the halftime buzzer gave the Tar Heels their largest lead to that point, 47-23.
“We knew we had to have the mindset of staying ready and being in the moment,” Trimble said. “Coach (Hubert) Davis and the rest of the coaching staff did a great job of ensuring and allowing us to stay ready, and we just had to fight through the anticipation.”
North Carolina advanced to face No. 6 seed Mississippi in a South Region game Friday in Milwaukee.
The Tar Heels (23-13) seemed a long shot to make the tournament with a 1-12 record in Quad 1 games but were chosen Sunday thanks to a strong nonconference schedule and other metrics.
San Diego State (21-10) led the nation in field goal percentage defense but had no answer for the Tar Heels. Nick Boyd and Wayne McKinney III each scored 12 for the Aztecs.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
