CHARLOTTE, N.C. –– All week, the haters said that the No.1-seeded Tar Heels weren’t good enough, that they were too weak to advance and wouldn’t survive Tom Izzo and his crew.
North Carolina was written off yet they didn’t write back, earning a Sweet Sixteen berth with a 85-69 win over Michigan State Saturday night at the Spectrum Center. They moved to 6-0 over the Spartans in the NCAA Tournament and will travel to Los Angeles to continue the madness and silence their doubters.
While he didn’t finish with any points, Paxson Wojcik was the game changer in tonight’s win. With 3:19 left in the game, Wojcik made an unselfish play with a steal off a fastbreak as he charged his way down the floor and into the paint. But instead of going for the easy layup, he instead saw RJ Davis waiting in the right corner of the perimeter and decided to feed his teammate the ball. Davis, whose feet were already planted, swooshed it in making his first three-pointer of the night.
“He changed the whole thing,” Davis said. “To be a part of that moment and hear the crowd go crazy that speaks to the type of team basketball we play. We have guys that can come off the bench ready to play and make an impact on the game.”
Before he even got the shot off, however, Wojcik was holding a three with his left-hand and running towards the other end of the court, confident that Davis would make the shot.
“It’s like feeding Steph Curry out there, you just know he’s gonna make that shot,” Wojcik said.
This game was also meaningful in that Paxson also beat his dad, MSU assistant coach Doug. Being able to beat his dad’s team in the tournament “felt great” according to Pax, but it means more that he’ll be able to have his entire family with him when they play in the next round.
“I’ve never experienced something like this before, so it feels really good to be in a position like this,” he said.
For clarification, I asked him what kind of position he thinks he and the team are in.
“A position to win it all,” he replied back with a smile.
Davis led the team with 20 points, a performance that was supplemented by Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram who scored 18 and 17 respectively.
Ingram had the most efficient game out of all the Tar Heels on the floor, at one point making his first four 3-point attempts – finishing 5-of-7 from deep.
“I was a big fan of Izzo growing up so to be able to beat him in the tournament, it’s a great feeling,” Ingram said.
And it’s a feeling that he showed excitement about both on the court and in the hallways, shouting, “they were doing all that talkin’—now they going home.”
North Carolina will play the winner of No.12-seed Grand Canyon and No.4-seed Alabama who will face off tonight night at 7:10 p.m.
