A first-half double-double from Armando Bacot and a season-high 16 points from Jae’Lyn Withers helped No. 1 Carolina breeze past No. 16 seed Wagner in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday afternoon in Charlotte.
𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐍.#CarolinaFamily | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/y3IHNo3wyb
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 21, 2024
Bacot finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds. At halftime, he’d already accumulated 14 points and 11 rebounds against the undersized Seahawks. He’s now grabbed 15 or more rebounds in six consecutive NCAA Tournament games, and his 20 points moved him past Phil Ford on the program’s all-time scoring list.
“That’s unreal,” said head coach Hubert Davis afterward. “I can’t think of a better person to be able to do that than Armando.”
“Since I got here as a freshman, Phil has always been somebody that’s been involved and always given me words of encouragement,” Bacot said. “I’ll make sure when I see him, I’ll talk a little trash.”
Withers, a Charlotte native, showed out in front of his hometown, grabbing 10 rebounds in addition to his 16 points to register his second double-double of the season. Withers’ effort helped Carolina navigate a sleepy opening 20 minutes in which Wagner – while dressing only seven players – trailed by only 12 points at halftime.
“I felt like in the first half, at times, we were out of character,” Davis said. “But ‘J-Wit,’ his energy and effort on both ends of the floor really ignited us… his production was real.”
UNC’s Jae’Lyn Withers goes to the basket against Wagner in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 21, 2024. (Image via Todd Melet)
Withers had scored only 10 points combined in Carolina’s three ACC Tournament games, and hadn’t reached double figures since January 17. His 21 minutes played were the most since that game.
“It’s extremely rewarding,” Withers said. “Having a double-double in front of a lot of my family members in the stands, contributing to the win. It’s great. First time in the tournament, so doing that in the first game is surreal.”
R.J. Davis scored a game-high 22 points, which moved him past UNC legend Lennie Rosenbluth on Carolina’s scoring leaderboard. Davis scored 17 of his 22 in the second half, when Carolina shot 19-33 (57.6 percent) and outscored the Seahawks 50-34.
“I’m kind of speechless about it,” Davis said of passing Rosenbluth. “I feel like everything’s happening so fast this year. It’s a blur. All the achievements I’ve achieved so far. I don’t know what I’m ranked on the list now. But it means everything, just because I know how many great players have played here.”
Overall, Carolina shot 33-60 (55 percent), its best NCAA Tournament shooting percentage since 2016. Wagner sat 12 points behind at 60-48 with 10:23 remaining in the game. After that, UNC ripped off a 28-10 run to open up a 30-point lead in the final minutes, its largest of the game.
“The whole game, we felt like we were in control,” Bacot said. “We hadn’t really gotten out to that big of a lead, but at no point we were worried about losing. It was more, for us, playing the right way and doing the right things. That way, it’s not carrying over to the next game.”
UNC now holds a 33-2 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64. The Tar Heels will face No. 9 seed Michigan State in the Round of 32 on Saturday. The Spartans defeated No. 8 Mississippi State 69-51 in the opening round.
“They played an amazing game,” Bacot said. “Mississippi State is a great team… and for Michigan State to go out there and be the aggressors, it’s gonna be a good, big-time matchup on Saturday.”
Featured image via Todd Melet
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