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.
The Tar Heels were a controversial selection for the NCAA Tournament, and they played like a team with something to prove.
North Carolina shot 61% in the first half and went 7 for 9 from 3-point range. Davis’ long 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer gave the Tar Heels their largest lead to that point, 47-23.
North Carolina advanced to face No. 6 seed Mississippi in a South Region game Friday in Milwaukee.
Nick Boyd and Wayne McKinney III each scored 12 for the Aztecs.
The Tar Heels (23-13) seemed a longshot to make the tournament with a 1-12 record in Quadrant 1 games, but they 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.
In the first game …
Alabama State 70, Saint Francis (Pa.) 68: Amarr Knox’s layup with one second left lifted Alabama State to its first NCAA Tournament win in a matchup of No. 16 seeds, also in Dayton, Ohio.
Knox scored 16 points to help the Hornets (20-15) earn a date with No. 1 overall seed Auburn on Thursday in a South Region game at Lexington, Kentucky.
“You just said it: March Madness,” Alabama State coach Tony Madlock said. “I think I’ve talked about this with all of the media, that all of our games end just like this, either we have to get a bucket or we have to get a stop. Fortunately enough we were able to get a bucket to finish this game off.”
After forcing a turnover in the final seconds, Alabama State had the ball out of bounds under its own basket. With the score tied, Micah Simpson threw a long pass nearly the length of the court toward a scrum of players in the lane at the other end – not unlike a Hail Mary in football.
The ball deflected off a teammate and right into Knox’s hands near the rim, giving him a simple layup for the winning points.
“We put our tallest athletic person to go get the ball,” Knox said. “And fortunately everybody tipped the ball, and it landed to me, and I got the rebound and made the layup.”
Saint Francis chose not to pressure Simpson on the inbounds pass.
Officials determined there was one second remaining after Knox’s layup, but a desperation heave by the Red Flash fell short.
Saint Francis, which lost its season opener at Dayton, made an unlikely return to the arena as the 19th team to enter the NCAA Tournament with a losing record. Those teams are now 0-19.
“These guys for 34 games left it all out on the court for us,” Coach Rob Krimmel said. “I know that they’re disappointed. That’s the thing that I love about them. They’re champions, and nothing can take that away from our group.”
Alabama State is making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance.
Micah Octave’s steal and dunk put the Hornets ahead by four with 1:36 left, but the Red Flash tied the score at 68-all on Chris Moncrief’s 3-pointer with 40 seconds remaining.
Juan Cranford Jr., playing in his hometown, led Saint Francis with 18 points. Valentino Pinedo scored 17 for the Red Flash (16-18), who squandered a nine-point lead.
Saint Francis shot 59% and went 6 for 12 from 3-point range to take a 39-34 lead into halftime.
“We’ve been in that moment, that situation, a few times this year, and we knew we just had to come out and play ball,” Knox said. “We stayed positive. We knew as soon as the next half started that we would come out, fly around, play aggressive and just do whatever it takes to win the game.”
The Red Flash committed 15 turnovers, leading to 26 points for the Hornets.
“We turned the ball over too many times,” Cranford said. “We turned the ball over that many times, you can’t expect to come out with a good outcome.”
Following a missed shot by Knox down the stretch, TJ Madlock was fouled scrambling for the rebound. He missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but Saint Francis committed a turnover at the other end, setting up the dramatic finish.
Up next: Auburn.
“I’ll figure that all out tonight,” Tony Madlock said. “We’re going to enjoy this tonight. We’re going to have this bus ride, I guess a couple hours down the road to play in Lexington at Rupp Arena. How can you beat that?”
More to come to this story.
