The No. 11 seed in the South Region North Carolina Tar Heels(23-13) are set to take on the No. 6 seed Ole Miss Rebels(22-11) in the 1st Round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. This game will take place Friday afternoon in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
UNC was a double-digit seed for the first time in program history. They qualified for the main draw of the tournament following a blowout win over San Diego State in the First Four. The Rebels qualified for the tourney for the first since 2019 when they lost in the opening round. Who will win this game between evenly matched squads?
North Carolina Season Summary
The inclusion of the Tar Heels in the NCAA Tournament drew the ire of sports fans. They struggled against Quad 1 teams. UNC making the tournament led to West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey calling for an investigation into the NCAA for keeping the West Virginia Mountaineers out of the tournament.
North Carolina silenced the naysayers by defeating San Diego State 95-68 in the First Four. UNC did everything right in Tuesday night’s win. Guard RJ Davis led the team with 26 points and shot a perfect 6-of-6 from deep. UNC shot 52.6% from the field and 58.3% from three-point range. UNC will need to replicate that performance to defeat Ole Miss.
Ole Miss Season Summary
The Rebels struggled to compete in an SEC that was historically deep. They were 10-8 in conference play and dropped two of their final three games heading into the opening round. Ole Miss has a middling offense. They are 92d in points scored, 204th in field goal percentage, and 174th in three-point percentage.
The team’s defense has been poor. They are 175th in points allowed, 144th in opposing field goal percentage, and 120th in opposing three-point percentage. Ole Miss is well-balanced on offense. They have six players averaging in double figures. A lack of scoring depth has hurt their offense.
Final Thoughts
This should be a close game with the Tar Heels favored by a point. North Carolina needs to put together a good game like they did in the First Four to advance. Ole Miss does not have a good defense. That unit could struggle to keep pace with UNC’s high-flying offense. The Tar Heels are riding high following a dominating performance. They should be able to squeak out a close victory.
