RJ Davis scored 20 points to help North Carolina win against Michigan State 85-69 in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, pushing the Tar Heels to the Sweet 16 while remaining undefeated in March Madness against Spartans Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo.
Harrison Ingram scored 17 points for the West Region’s top seed by making five 3-pointers, continuing their NCAA success in their home state. UNC (29-7) went on a 23-3 run over the last eight minutes of the first half, erasing a 12-point deficit, and continued to respond to every push by the Spartans after halftime.
The Tar Heels improved their record to 5-0 in the tournament against Izzo, including victories in the 2005 Final Four and 2009 title game. They will move on to the regional semifinals in Los Angeles, where they will face either Grand Canyon or Alabama on Thursday night.
UNC also received a strong performance from Armando Bacot (18 points), who scored from inside, drew fouls, or passed against double teams. Ingram capitalized on some of those passes, hitting 5 of 7 3-pointers and grabbing seven rebounds.
Tyson Walker scored 24 points for the ninth-seeded Spartans (20-15), who were essentially playing a road game in front of a blue-clad crowd about 2 1/2 hours away from UNC’s Chapel Hill campus.
One of Ingram’s 3-pointers appeared to miss, but it miraculously circled the rim and went through the net, leading to Ingram's excitement and giving UNC a 69-57 lead with 6:18 left.
The lead increased to as much as 17 and never fell below double digits again.
The Spartans started strong, with Walker scoring 11 points in the first 10 1/2 minutes. When Malik Hall scored against Jae’Lyn Withers inside, Michigan State led 28-17 at the 8:08 mark.
That’s when the Tar Heels finally matched the Spartans’ competitive edge.
Ingram started a 17-0 surge with a 3-pointer, which included multiple baskets and free throws from Bacot. Cormac Ryan also made a 3-pointer in a sequence that started in the paint with Bacot, while Ingram hit another, pushing the Tar Heels to a 40-31 lead at the break.
BIG PICTURE
Michigan State: The team had a rocky season, starting as the No. 4 team in the AP Top 25 but becoming unranked before the end of November and remaining so for the rest of the year. Despite wins against NCAA 3-seeds Illinois and Baylor, they didn’t manage more than a three-game winning streak since the beginning of 2024 and had lost five of seven games before March Madness. Although they had a strong performance to beat eighth-seeded Mississippi State on Thursday, they couldn’t maintain the same level of play throughout the game, reflecting their inconsistent season.
UNC: The Tar Heels advanced by dominating against an undersized team, 16th-seeded Wagner. They faced a tougher challenge in this game but improved their record to 36-2 in NCAA games in North Carolina, including 14-1 in Charlotte, the state’s largest city.
UP NEXT
The Tar Heels will find out who they will play on Sunday. UNC has won 8 out of 13 games against the fourth-seeded Crimson Tide and has never played against the 12th-seeded Antelopes.
