MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – MARCH 21: Davon Barnes #7 of the Ole Miss Rebels makes a move on Seth Trimble #7 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first half in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Fiserv Forum on March 21, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
North Carolina’s inclusion in the NCAA tournament was one of the hottest topics of Selection Sunday.
The Tar Heels responded with a dominant win over San Diego State in the First Four. But their NCAA tournament run won’t extend beyond the first round. No. 6 seed Ole Miss opened a 22-point lead over No. 11 North Carolina on Friday, then held off a furious late Tar Heels rally for an 71-64 win.
With the win, Mississippi advances to face No. 3 Iowa State in the second round. For North Carolina, a roller-coaster season comes to an end.
Ole Miss jumped out of the gates to a 44-26 halftime lead and appeared to be cruising to an easy victory. It was a familiar refrain for UNC, which regularly dug deep first-half holes against strong competition throughout the season.
Mississippi extended the lead to 50-28 early in the second half. But the Tar Heels punched back and cut their deficit to 63-59 with an 11-0 run to keep pressure on the Rebels with 5:07 remaining, setting up a tight battle down the stretch.
A three-point play by RJ Davis cut Mississippi’s lead to 66-64 with 1:09 remaining. But Mississippi’s Sean Pedulla answered with a 3-pointer on the other end to thwart the Tar Heels rally and extend the lead back to five points.
At that point, UNC’s rally ran out of steam, and Ole Miss hung on in a nail-biter.
The win for Ole Miss continued a strong start from SEC teams in the first two days of the NCAA tournament. SEC teams went 4-2 on Thursday and improved to 6-3 overall with Mississippi’s win after placing an NCAA tournament-record 14 teams into the field.
The North Carolina loss means that Duke is the only remaining ACC team out of four that made the tournament field. It also marks an end to a disappointing season that started with promise in Chapel Hill.
UNC began the season as the ninth-ranked team in the AP poll. But struggles against a stacked non-conference slate dropped UNC out of the polls before ACC play began. The Tar Heels finished the regular season with a 1-12 record against Quad 1 teams, but made it into the tournament as the last team in the field after an 8-2 run to end their season.
A 14-of-24 effort from 3-point distance propelled UNC to a 95-68 win over SDSU in the First Four. But UNC’s 3-point shooting fell back to earth on Friday.
The Tar Heels shot 5 of 24 (38.1%) from long-distance agains Ole Miss and 38.1% from the field overall. They stayed in the game in part by forcing 14 Ole Miss turnovers that opened up repeated transition opportunities.
But Ole Miss was more efficient with its opportunities while shooting 44.4% from the field and 8 of 20 (40% from long distance). Pedulla led the way for Ole Miss with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists. Dre Davis added 15 points and eight rebounds while shooting 3 of 4 from long distance.
Davis finished with 15 points and three assists in the last game of a storied UNC career that includes All-America and ACC Player of the Year selections in 2024. He’ll finish his career as the ACC’s No. 2 all-time leading scorer. Ven-Allen Lubin was the only other Tar Heel to score in double figures with 14 points.
North Carolina rallied to end the game and its season with a fight. But as was the case so much throughout its season, its first-half struggles were too much to overcome.
