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
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
Related Stories
‹
UNC Men's Basketball Overcomes Shooting Woes to Fight Past Wake Forest in ACC QuarterfinalsDespite going a span of nearly 10 minutes in the second half without a made basket, UNC fought past Wake Forest in a physical ACC quarterfinal Thursday in Charlotte, 68-59. HEELS WIN.#CarolinaFamily | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/SAPdYzsPUi — Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 13, 2025 A tense and foul-filled second half saw Wake Forest’s Juke Harris assessed a […]
Chansky's Notebook: TransformationJae'Lyn Withers has gone from buried on the bench to burying seven three-pointers against Notre Dame, an ACC Tournament record for UNC.
UNC Men's Basketball Cruises Past Notre Dame into ACC Tournament QuarterfinalsJaelyn Withers scored a career-high 21 points and Ven-Allen Lubin posted a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double to help UNC ease past Notre Dame 76-56 in the second round of the ACC Tournament Wednesday afternoon in Charlotte. HEELS WIN.#CarolinaFamily | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/i63FrZXGXz — Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 12, 2025 All of Withers’ points came from long distance, […]
UNC's Drake Powell Declares for NBA DraftUNC freshman wing Drake Powell has declared for the 2025 NBA Draft. Powell made the announcement on his Instagram page Wednesday afternoon. View this post on Instagram A post shared by D R I Z Z Y (@drakepoww) While playing at Pittsboro’s Northwood High School, Powell became a five-star prospect across all major recruiting services. […]
Here's a List of Who is Transferring Out of the UNC Men's Basketball Program (2025)The college basketball transfer portal opened March 24, and several Tar Heels have entered their names in. Here’s a list of which players have expressed their intention to leave Chapel Hill this offseason: F Ven-Allen Lubin Lubin announced his entry into the portal April 21, but with a catch: the big man said his “full […]
Seth Trimble Confirms His Return for A Senior Season With UNC Men's BasketballGuard Seth Trimble posted on Instagram with the UNC men's basketball account Tuesday confirming he is planning to play a fourth season in Carolina blue.
'We've Got to Get Bigger': Highlights from Hubert Davis' Final Radio Show of the SeasonUNC men’s basketball head coach Hubert Davis recorded his final radio show of the season Wednesday night. Davis addressed multiple topics during the hour-long broadcast, including next steps for his program, goals in the transfer portal and his recruiting process during the offseason. Here are some of Davis’ comments, which have been lightly edited for […]
Chansky's Notebook: Just Too SmallUNC head coach Hubert Davis and new general manager Jim Turner need to turn over the roster again to return the Tar Heels to relevance.
UNC's Season-Ending Loss Showed the Tar Heels' Identity, For Better And For WorseUNC ended the season much the same way it began it: consistently inconsistent, and falling a few plays short of a signature win.
Ole Miss Holds Off Comeback, Ends UNC Men's Basketball's Season in NCAA 1st RoundChapelboro.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’ […]
›
