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.
After beating San Diego State in the First Four Tuesday night in Dayton, Carolina is moving on to the Round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels will face No. 6 seed Ole Miss in Milwaukee Friday afternoon. The Rebels bring in a 22-11 overall record and a 10-8 mark in the Southeastern Conference, where they finished tied for sixth.
Here’s a quick breakdown of Ole Miss:
Head coach: Chris Beard. One of the most decorated coaches in men’s college basketball, Beard has been named the Sun Belt Coach of the Year (2016), the Big 12 Coach of the Year (twice, in 2018 and 2019) and the National Coach of the Year (2019). Ole Miss is the fourth program he’s taken to the NCAA Tournament; he also reached the Big Dance with Little Rock, Texas Tech and Texas. His stint with the Red Raiders was the most successful, as Texas Tech won 31 games and finished as the national runners-up in 2019. The 2024-25 season is Beard’s second with Ole Miss, and this is his first NCAA Tournament appearance with the Rebels.
What’s the history? Carolina has played Ole Miss twice in men’s basketball, but not for a long time. In fact, the last meeting between the Tar Heels and Rebels was nearly a century ago: March 1, 1926, when UNC beat Ole Miss in Atlanta. The two teams also met in 1923, when the Rebels emerged victorious.
Player to watch: Sean Pedulla. Pedulla is a familiar face to the Tar Heels, as the senior guard spent his first three seasons at Virginia Tech. While in Blacksburg, he helped the Hokies win the 2022 ACC Tournament (beating UNC along the way) and started 66 consecutive games before entering the transfer portal. Now, Pedulla is the Rebels’ leading scorer at 14.9 points per game and is shooting 38.8 percent on three-pointers – a sharp uptick from his last two seasons with Virginia Tech, when he shot just 33.5 percent from long distance. A season highlight for Pedulla came in Ole Miss’ opening game of the SEC Tournament, when he hit a long game-winning three to beat Arkansas.
SEAN PEDULLA BEATS THE BUZZER 🙌
Ole Miss takes down Arkansas in an SEC thriller! pic.twitter.com/JuMEh0K4a9
— ESPN (@espn) March 13, 2025
Stats to watch: Impressively, Ole Miss has put together a strong season despite entering the tournament with a negative rebounding differential. On average, the Rebels grab around 33 rebounds per game while allowing nearly 38 – both numbers which rank them near the bottom of Division 1. In fact, Ole Miss has the lowest rebounding differential of any team in the NCAA Tournament. In the Rebels’ most recent game, its tallest starter stood at six-foot-nine, while its starting backcourt of Pedulla and Jaylen Murray are six-foot-one and five-foot-eleven, respectively. It’s not often that the Tar Heels will have a height advantage over another major-conference opponent, but this is one of those games.
Where the Rebels make hay is in turnover differential: their per-game turnover margin of +5.4 ranks fourth in Division 1. It’s because Ole Miss hardly ever gives the ball away – just 8.9 times per game, third-best in the nation. On the other side of the ball, the Rebels are a ball-hawking defense, forcing 14.3 turnovers per game, also among the nation’s best. Pedulla, ever a nuisance on defense, has posted a career-high 1.8 steals per game this season, one of four Rebels to average at least one theft per game. UNC has committed 23 turnovers combined in its last two games.
Ole Miss’ scoring is incredibly balanced. With Pedulla leading the way, six Rebels score at least 10 points per game. In contrast, UNC only has three such players. But after those six scoring threats, there is a sharp drop-off: the next most proficient Rebel averages just 5.2 points per game. Ole Miss’ “Big Six” means the offensive attack can withstand an off night from one of their core pieces, but the Tar Heels would be smart to attack the Rebels’ depth – after all, Ole Miss commits the 10th-most fouls per game of any team in the NCAA Tournament.
What have you done for me lately? Ole Miss began the season on a tear, winning 15 of its first 17 games. The hot streak included wins against tournament teams BYU, Louisville (on the road) and Georgia. The Rebels capped off this run with a season-defining win on the road at No. 4 Alabama, which moved them to 15-2 overall and 4-0 in league play. But the rough-and-tumble SEC didn’t let Ole Miss off the hook, as it lost four of its next five games. The Rebels would earn more key victories against No. 14 Kentucky and No. 4 Tennessee, but they enter the tournament just 3-5 in their last eight contests.
What are the odds? As of Wednesday, UNC is a 1.5-point favorite in the game.
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Featured image via Associated Press/George Walker IV
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