One of the little pleasures of early-round NCAA Tournament games is the silent minutes that take place behind the scenes, in the shadows, before tipoff, at a period of unparalleled anticipation and optimism. And so it was on Thursday afternoon in the depths of the Spectrum Centre, with North Carolina warming up in a room near the Wagner band and mascot. The mighty Tar Heels, the No. 1 seed in the West Region, went through their pregame stretches and callisthenics while someone in a large, green Seahawk costume, with a grey shirt with a large W on it, stood idly by in the background, as if doing some last-minute scouting. Only in March.
The NCAA Tournament brought together these dissimilar institutions — the Tar Heels, with their Final Four and national championship aspirations; and the Wagner Seahawks, the Northeast Conference champions who were already riding a miracle wave — and invited them to put on an exhibition.
It wasn’t a masterpiece. However, there was some drama, with UNC attempting to pull away, Wagner fighting back, UNC attempting to put it away, Wagner fighting back, until, finally, the Tar Heels did manage some separation in their 90-62 victory, in front of a full arena, no shortage of light blue, and people who’d been waiting for something to get loud about for a while.
They finally got it midway through the second half, after a sequence that included two 3-pointers from RJ Davis and Harrison Ingram, followed by a Jae’lyn Withers slam on an alley-oop off a fastbreak. UNC suddenly had a 20-point advantage. Suddenly, a game whose outcome had seemed uncertain only seconds before felt more settled. Davis, the ACC Player of the Year and a consensus All-American, led UNC with 22 points. Armando Bacot ended with 20 points and 15 rebounds, his sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament game with at least 15 rebounds dating back to the UNC’s historic postseason run in 2022.
