'The moment I've been dreaming of:' Harrison Ingram erupts, leads UNC to Sweet 16

CHARLOTTE — Harrison Ingram couldn’t sleep.

Prior to Saturday’s Round of 32 matchup against No. 9-seeded Michigan State, the junior forward tried his best to get in his pregame nap. It’s something he tries to do before every game, especially on the road. 

But on Saturday, it was no use.

As he laid down and music played in his ears, all he could do was think about the game. He even envisioned all the different celebrations he would use after each shot he made.

“It's the moment I've been dreaming of,” Ingram said.

In No. 1-seeded UNC’s 85-69 victory over the Spartans, Ingram was the spark. His energy and 3-point shooting helped the Tar Heels overcome their largest NCAA tournament deficit in 17 years. In just his second career game in the Big Dance, Ingram scored 17 points and tied his career-high in 3-pointers with five, sending the Tar Heels back to the Sweet 16.

It took more than 12 minutes into the game for that impact to be felt, though. After Michigan State extended its lead to 11, Ingram sparked the 17-0 run that put UNC up for good. 

The shift began when graduate forward Jae’Lyn Withers found Ingram on the right wing. The junior wing hit his first three of the game and then hit his defender with a “too small” celebration.

From there, a switch was flipped.

“Harrison actually told me yesterday that he was going to put on a big-time performance today,” graduate forward Armando 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.”

Over two minutes later, Ingram let it rip from behind the arc again. The ball bounced off the front of the rim, kissed the glass and found nylon to cut the deficit to one. He turned to head coach Hubert Davis, let out a scream and bumped chests with senior guard RJ Davis.

“His personality brings something that nobody on the team can bring,” Hubert Davis said. “It brings confidence. It brings joy. It brings happiness, seriousness, competitiveness. His game and his personality is exactly what this team and this program needed this year.”

His mom, Vera, said Ingram has had this energy on the court from the very beginning. It’s born from his love of basketball. But playing in March Madness for the first time, Ingram said this is the most energy he’s ever felt on the court.

On Saturday, that energy was elevated by the Spartans. After hitting his second three of the game, Ingram helped force a travel from Spartan guard A.J. Hoggard on the opposite end. He immediately got into the face of Hoggard and started talking. 

Ingram said Michigan State was talking more than any team he’s heard in a long time. And that fired him up.

“Whenever people start talking, that's when I kind of go into a different mode,” Ingram said.

With each three that dropped, Ingram’s intensity increased. After hitting a toilet-bowl three with a little over six minutes to go, a dagger that would increase UNC’s lead to double digits for the remainder of the game, he turned to his parents in the stands, jumped around and screamed.

Vera, sitting behind the UNC bench, could only think about all the work Harrison has put in over the years. In the offseason, Harrison worked out with Steph Curry trainer Brandon Payne and he woke up at 6 a.m., five days a week, to work on his shooting with RJ. His 3-point percentage has increased by more than five points this year, and he was able to showcase that Saturday on the biggest stage.

In his third year of collegiate basketball, Ingram’s dream is finally becoming reality.

“It's been consistent hard work throughout the years,” Vera said. "That's what was going through my mind. I'm so glad he gets to see a payoff for that.”

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