Ole Miss Holds Off Comeback, Ends UNC Men’s Basketball’s Season in NCAA 1st Round

Chapelboro.com’s coverage of UNC in the NCAA Tournament is proudly presented by Town Hall Grill in Southern Village, and High & Rubish Insurance Agency.

UNC fell behind early and never recovered against No. 6 seed Ole Miss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon in Milwaukee, falling to the Rebels 71-64. The Tar Heels’ 2024-25 season is over.

Ole Miss began the game by making 14 of its first 20 shots, an offensive explosion for which UNC had no answer. The Rebels made six three-pointers inside the first 10 minutes of the game. The Tar Heels shot just 9-26 (34.6 percent) in the first half and trailed 44-26 at halftime. The Rebels, which entered the game as the worst rebounding team in the NCAA Tournament, held a 21-12 edge on the glass.

“They brought the physical, competitive fight in the first half,” head coach Hubert Davis said. “Every category, every angle… they not only won in the first half, they dominated us. There was only two choices coming out in the second half: either respond with that same type of fight or get embarrassed.”

“We had no passion. We had no joy,” said junior guard Seth Trimble. “We looked like the group we were a few months ago.”

The Tar Heels, as they often did during the season, made a furious push in the second half. Ole Miss pushed the lead to as large as 22 points at 50-28, but UNC steadily chipped away. The deficit shrank to 15 points with eight minutes to go, then down under single digits on the strength of an 11-0 Tar Heel run. It cut the Ole Miss advantage from 63-48 to 63-59, and it was game on in Milwaukee.

“We’ve been in that situation before,” Davis said. “The discipline and detail mistakes we made in the first half on both ends of the floor, we made very few in the second half… it’s the little details.”

After an and-1 layup from R.J. Davis in the final two minutes, UNC trailed 66-64. It was the closest the game had been since the opening minute. But with its season on the line, the Carolina defense lost Ole Miss leading scorer Sean Pedulla, and the former Virginia Tech Hokie knocked down a critical three-pointer to give the Rebels a five-point cushion and effectively seal the win. UNC wouldn’t score again.

The Tar Heels never led in the game, marking the first game in which the team never led since an 87-70 loss at Duke in Durham.

Carolina ends the season with a 23-14 record. It’s only the program’s third loss in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64 since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

Visit our sports section to find more Carolina basketball coverage from Chapelboro.com, onsite at the NCAA Tournament! Proudly presented by Town Hall Grill in Southern Village and High & Rubish Insurance Agency

Featured image via Todd Melet

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