Sweet 16 bound: UNC men's hoops takes down Michigan State, 85-69

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After a 23-3 run to end the first half, the No. 1 seeded North Carolina men’s basketball team (29-7) pulled away from No. 9 seed Michigan State (20-15) in the second to win, 85-69, in the second round of the NCAA tournament Saturday at Spectrum Center.

Senior guard RJ Davis paced with Tar Heels with 20 points, while junior forward Harrison Ingram scored 17 and tied a career high with five 3-pointers. The Tar Heels turned the ball over just five times to Michigan State’s 11 giveaways.

“There was no doubt in our mind he would show up big time for us and hit big-time shots,” graduate center Armando Bacot said. “The way he defended was amazing for us, and we don't win that without him.”

The Spartans took control early. They established a physical presence in the paint on both ends.

Star guard Tyson Walker knocked down two tough midrange jumpers in the first few minutes to get the Spartans going offensively. Mady Sissoko scored twice in the paint, and an A.J. Hoggard three made it 17-7 with 12:50 to go in the first half.

“They punched first,” head coach Hubert Davis said. “Their physicality, their will, their want to, the first ten minutes of the game just overwhelmed us.”

The Tar Heels responded with a 5-0 run, including a three from Davis, to cut the deficit in half by the under-12 timeout.

The lead was double digits again at 26-14 after threes on back-to-back possessions by Walker.  

But then North Carolina locked in defensively. After the second Walker triple, the Spartans scored just five points in the next nine plus minutes to end the half.

While the Spartans weren’t scoring, the Tar Heels scored in bunches. The UNC run was highlighted by a Davis corner three in transition that forced Michigan State to call timeout with 3:16 remaining down 32-28. Bacot scored eight points during the run, and Ingram canned three triples, including one with eight seconds on the clock. After a tough start, the Tar Heels led 40-31 at the break.

Like in the first, Michigan State started the second half strong. Two threes and an and-one layup by Jaden Akins cut the UNC lead to 48-45 at the under-16 timeout.

The Tar Heels tried to stretch the lead back to double digits over the next eight minutes, but the Spartans were determined to hang around. The Tar Heels advantage' was seven four times in that stretch and 64-57 at the under-eight stoppage.

But then North Carolina finally broke through. Ingram’s fifth three of the game went in, then out, then around, then down. Michigan State called a quick timeout, and the Tar Heel lead was 12 with 6:21 to go. 

“For me, it's all about team basketball,” Ingram said. “Today I was open, and [my teammates] found me.”

Two second-chance buckets from sophomore forward Jalen Washington and graduate guard Cormac Ryan made it a 16-point game, and the Tar Heels put the game away at the free-throw line.

North Carolina advances to the Sweet Sixteen next week in Los Angeles. It will face the winner of the game between No. 12 Grand Canyon and No. 4 Alabama.

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