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MILWAUKEE — Thirty-nine days ago, in the wake of a 20-point blowout loss at Clemson, the idea of North Carolina even being here as an at-large NCAA Tournament team seemed dubious at best, given the Tar Heels were hovering slightly above .500. When Selection Sunday arrived five days ago — following eight wins over the final 10 games — the issue remained in doubt with UNC firmly on the bubble.
So the fact North Carolina earned a berth despite a 1-12 record against Quad 1 opponents from the committee was … something at least. And when UNC hammered San Diego State in a First Four game Tuesday, it temporarily quelled some of the noise surrounding the Tar Heels’ admission. Maybe, using fuel from an opportunity some people didn’t believe they deserved — something guard RJ Davis said “irks my soul” — the lowest-seeded tournament team in program history could make a memorable run through the field.
It nearly happened before the remnants of March magic evaporated as No. 6 seed Ole Miss held on to defeat No. 11 seed UNC 71-64 in a first-round South Region game on Friday afternoon at Fiserv Forum. The Tar Heels have been a flawed team that required coach Hubert Davis to use several different lineups throughout the season. But they went down swinging on Friday, trimming a 22-point deficit to two points on RJ Davis’ and-one with 1:09 remaining as part of a furious comeback that came up just short in a wildly entertaining finish.
“It just describes our whole season from being an up-and-down year, being a difficult year, and persevering,” RJ Davis said. “We were resilient. And to come up short like that, it sucks. It hurts.”
UNC trailed Ole Miss 44-26 at halftime, and Hubert Davis acknowledged that his team didn’t just lose the first half physically but was dominated. UNC guard Seth Trimble described the Tar Heels as “lifeless” in the first half, a team that had no passion or joy. That led to an impassioned halftime speech from the head coach as he attempted to draw whatever was left in the tank out of his players.
“There were only two choices coming out in the second half: either to respond with that same type of fight or get embarrassed,” Hubert Davis said. “I was really proud of how our guys fought back competitively and got back into the game. But just the whole game, that wasn’t us the last two months. That was us the first four months. And I told them that at halftime. I said, ‘I haven’t seen this team since Clemson.’ Against good teams like Ole Miss, it’s just not sustainable.”
Ole Miss extended its lead to 22 points in the first two minutes of the second half and led 63-48 with 8:55 remaining. Then came an 11-0 surge from North Carolina to electrify the crowd, capped by Jalen Washington’s one-handed dunk. Each time the Tar Heels were close, however, Ole Miss leading scorer Sean Pedulla was there to prevent a miracle from occurring. He scored inside on Davis to end the drought and then buried a 3-pointer from the left wing that gave the Rebels a 69-64 cushion with 52.8 seconds remaining.
SEAN PEDULLA ANSWERS THE CALL 📞#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/Lcq4Q1Ryon
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 21, 2025
Pedulla finished with a game-high 20 points.
“Coming out of the timeout, we had something drawn up,” Pedulla said. “And what was going through my mind was just get a good shot off. Play confident. Don’t think too much.”
UNC had a habit of making unbelievable comebacks this season, even if the Tar Heels didn’t always pull them off. North Carolina trailed Kansas by 20 points in the first half at Allen Fieldhouse and took a four-point lead late before losing. The Tar Heels faced a 14-point deficit to Michigan State before forcing overtime in a loss and trailed Florida by 17 points in a close loss.
And then, of course, there was the 24-point deficit to Duke in the ACC tournament semifinal last week in which UNC trailed by just one and would have tied the score if not for a heartbreaking lane violation on forward Jae’Lyn Withers with 4.1 seconds remaining in a three-point loss. All of it will be of little consolation to Hubert Davis and his players.
Both players representing UNC at the postgame podium — RJ Davis and Trimble — were emotional. Trimble was in tears when talking about the influence Davis had on him. Davis needed to pause as he described the end of his five-year Tar Heels career and how the final game unfolded.
Ole Miss (23-11), meanwhile, advances to play third-seeded Iowa State (25-9) on Sunday in the second round of the South Region after the Cyclones dominated Lipscomb 82-55 earlier on Friday. The Rebels have a 15-man roster that features 11 juniors or seniors. All five starters are upperclassmen, including four seniors.
“Just having a veteran team, that’s something that we talk about all the time,” said Ole Miss guard Jaylen Murray, one of the team’s senior starters. “We knew that North Carolina was a super talented team, so if they went on a run, it’s not about panicking, just staying poised. We’ve been through this before. Just calm down, execute plays and get stops.”
Ole Miss coach Chris Beard has quickly authored an impressive turnaround in his second season in Oxford. The Rebels were 12-21 two years ago before he arrived. This marks the first time Ole Miss has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in six years and the first time the Rebels have won a first-round game in 10 years.
“We’re building something special,” Beard said. “Sooner than most people thought.”
And it leaves UNC searching for turnaround answers of its own.
(Photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
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