The Tar Heels, winners of nine of their last 11 games, play No. 6 seed Ole Miss in the first round of the NCAA South Regional at 4:05 p.m. on Friday, March 21, at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
Eleventh-seeded Carolina is 23-13, while the Rebels are 22-11.
About UNC
- Carolina is third in the ACC and 26th in the country in scoring at 81.2 points per game.
- The Tar Heels have shot 47% or better in 10 of the last 13 games (won nine of those 10, all except the ACC semifinal vs. Duke). Including 60.9% percent shooting in the first half against San Diego State, Carolina has shot at least 50% from the floor in 13 of the last 21 halves.
- Carolina is 12-1 this season when it shoots 50% or better from the floor and 11-0 when holding the opponents below 40%, both benchmarks it hit in the win over SDSU.
- Carolina’s 40-point lead in the First Four vs. the Aztecs was its second largest of the season, trailing only the 52-point final margin in the November 15 win over American (who is played in the 2025 NCAA Tournament).
- RJ Davis has played in 11 NCAA Tournament games, winning eight. He has averaged 16.1 points and scored in double figures eight times (six in a row) with a high of 30 against Baylor in the 2022 second round. He also scored 26 on Tuesday in the First Four vs. San Diego State, 22 and 20 last season vs. Wagner and Michigan State, respectively, and 18 in the 2022 Final Four win over Duke.
About Ole Miss
- Ole Miss has dominated the turnover battle this year, ranking fourth in the nation with a turnover margin of +5.4 while ranking third in college basketball in turnovers per game at 8.9. The Rebels are forcing an average of 14.3 turnovers per contest which ranks 37th in the NCAA. They lead the SEC in all three turnover metrics.
- Sean Pedulla has been on point from beyond the arc this season, drilling 78 shots from three-point range. He’s made a three-pointer in 31 of 33 games this year, and connected on multiple shots from deep in 19 contests, including eight games with four or more. His 78 total made threes this season are currently tied for the 10th-most in a single season in program history.
- The regular season schedule for Ole Miss was one of the most difficult in the nation. As of March 18, their cumulative opposition’s win percentage of 63.8 ranks as the fourth-highest in the nation, behind only Alabama, Auburn, and Kentucky. The Rebels have faced 12 ranked opponents this season and six top-five teams, both of which are the most in a single season in school history.
- The Rebels roster is one of five in the nation to feature seven players with over 1,000 career points (also Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, and Oklahoma State), and one of 32 programs to have two players with over 1,500 points. Entering the season, the team possessed 8,735 career points, 3,062 rebounds, 1,346 assists, 596 steals, and 327 blocks.
The Tar Heels and Rebels are playing for the first time in nearly 100 years. This is the third-ever game between the teams with each having won a game.
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