By Kenneth Cross
CHARLOTTE – North Carolina guard RJ Davis led four Tar Heels in double figures with 22 points and big-man Armando Bacot netted 20 points and 15 rebounds to send UNC into the Round of 32 with a 90-62 win over Wagner.
“A the beginning of practice, we always work on our post feeds,” said Bacot of his multiple touches in the post. “Early on in the year, I felt like at times I was a little impatient and not being able to find my spots.”
The overmatched Seahawks were outmanned at every position as, like Tennessee, this could have been an important situation for the Tar Heels to get their momentum back after losing to NC State in the ACC Championship.
Louisville transfer Jaylen Withers scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 21 minutes.
“Jae Wit, when his number is called has always been ready,” said Carolina head coach Hubert Davis. “I just feel like for Jae’Wit, it’s going to get more comfortable every day to get him to a point where he had a game like this today.”
Carolina never put Wagner away in the first half as they led 40-28 at the break. Withers, Bacot, and Cormac Ryan pushed North Carolina to a 58-42 lead with 11:52 to play.
Melvin Council, Jr. and Jaylin Brown had 18 points for the Seahawks who finished sixth in the Northeast Conference in the regular season, but made a three-game run for the trophy and opened with a 71-68 win over Howard in the play-in game.
Walker, Hall Ignite Spartans to Opening Win Over Bulldogs
Michigan State guard Tyson Walker led the Spartans with 19 points and the defense was consistent throughout Sparty’s 69-51 win over Mississippi State on Saturday.
The Spartans never trailed as Walker hit a pair of threes in an early 10-0 run that gave the Spartans a 20-8 lead on a jumper from Malik Hall, 11:17 before halftime.
Mississippi State could get nothing going on offense as the Spartans held dynamic point guard Josh Hubbard to 6-of-18 from the field. The ‘Dogs made only 37 percent of their shots and were just 6-of-27 from behind the three-point line.
“We give them credit,” said Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans. “But, at the same time, we just didn’t move the ball the way we wanted to going into the game, and we got off to a really, really poor start.”
Malik Hall’s athleticism inside limited Bulldogs’ big man Tolu Smith to only five field goals in 27 minutes as he had nine points.
The Spartans won the rebounding battle, 35-29, as they were able to score 11 points out of 10 offensive rebounds. On average, Mississippi State out rebounds its opponents by six per game.
“The game was won with rebounding and both of them (Tyson Walker and Jayden Akins) have some great offensive rebounds. I really believe that is where the game was won along with some of the shots they made.”
The Bulldogs had the least opportunities to get set as the Spartans were inside the gaps as well as continually trying to knock balls free.
“They didn’t do anything different than we anticipated or that we prepared for,” said Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans. “They just did what they do at a high level. They got in those gaps and had guards with really strong hands.”