CHARLOTTE - North Carolina guard Elliot Cadeau isn’t supposed to be here, on college basketball’s biggest stage with one of college basketball’s best teams, at least not yet anyways.

The freshman, who reclassified to the class of 2023 last May, should be leading Link Academy in its quest to defend its GEICO Nationals title, the informal national championship of high school basketball.

Instead, he’s helping guide the Tar Heels to their NCAA-record 38th Sweet Sixteen appearance, as they punched their ticket with an 85-69 win over 9-seed Michigan State on Saturday at Spectrum Center.

Cadeau tallied four points in the win, but his presence was felt in much more than the scoring column. He recorded a game-high plus-20 (for plus-minus) and four assists, while failing to commit a turnover for the fifth time in his freshman campaign.

“I thought his performance [was great], being able to handle the basketball, get us into our sets, his ability offensively to push the pace, it gives RJ a break to get off the ball,” said UNC Coach Hubert Davis. “I thought in the second half he responded defensively really well.”

In the Tar Heels’ opening-round contest against Wagner, Cadeau’s first NCAA Tournament action of his career, he did not play his best game by his own admission and by the standard he’s set for himself throughout the season.

He went scoreless for the first time in his career, while coughing up the basketball four times, the third most in a game this season.

Cadeau was critical of his performance immediately after the final buzzer sounded, vowing to meet his own, albeit high, expectations against the Spartans.

That bounceback outing began long before Saturday’s evening's tip. It started with a one-on-one conversation with senior guard RJ Davis.

Davis has seen Cadeau’s talent firsthand, beginning with the summer pick-up games in Chapel Hill, so his message to the freshman point guard was simple: play free.

“[The message was] just to have fun out there and kind of just play with a free mind. Sometimes it can be hard just because of March Madness,” said Davis. “You put a lot of pressure on yourself to perform well. I think Elliot has done a good job of doing that all year long in terms of playing freely, being who he is [and] the playmaker that he is, getting downhill, and being aggressive.”

Davis knew his pep talk wouldn’t fall on deaf ears either and that the West Orange, N.J. native was eager to learn, much like he has since stepping foot on campus.

“One thing about him is he listens,” said Davis, who scored 20 points against the Spartans. “He’ll ask questions, and that just shows how much he wants to learn and become better as a player and a person.”

Cadeau understands he is in a unique situation as far as teammates go, as the four other Tar Heels in the starting lineup, including Davis, have combined to play 17 seasons of college basketball.

It’s an understatement to say there’s plenty to learn from the quartet, but it’s how they treat him that has possibly helped his game the most.

“I’ve never had teammates like this, just constantly coming up to me [and] telling me they’re proud of me and to keep shooting, and just telling me great things,” said Cadeau. “I’m super grateful for that and I wouldn’t ask to have any other teammates.”

Cadeau has competed as a member of Sweden’s national team, when basketball was still just his passion, but a means of living for his teammates.

Those experiences motivated him to create more on the hardwood, and are part of the reason why he’s set the bar so high for his play.

Cadeau, who is averaging 7.3 points and 4.1 assists per contest, continues to be his own harshest critic, notably using the word “terrible” to describe his outing against Wagner. Even after an impactful performance against Michigan State, he wasn’t satisfied.

“I think I played pretty good compared to (Thursday), but I think there’s a whole nother level that I can tap into,” said Cadeau. “I can put on a better performance for sure.”

He’ll have a chance to do just that on Thursday, as North Carolina battles 4-seed Alabama for a spot in the West Regional Final.