DAYTON, OH – North Carolina more than proved its worthiness for the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday night by blitzing San Diego State, 95-68, in the First Four at University of Dayton Arena.

UNC was on a mission to validate its inclusion in the tournament as the last at-large team selected, but also as a continuation of something that started nearly six weeks ago when the season went from wobbling to where it is now.

Carolina has won for the ninth time in the last 11 games with the average margin of victory in those contests now 18.1. UNC led by 23 points at halftime and by as much as 40 late in the contest.

The Tar Heels’ 47 first-half points were the most against the Aztecs this season, and then they tallied 48 in the second half against a team that came in ranked 13th in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency. UNC shot 52.6% from the floor, including 58.3% (14-for-24) from the perimeter.

RJ Davis led UNC with 26 points, including setting a Carolina record shooting 6-for-6 from 3-point range in an NCAA Tournament game. The previous record was held by Hubert Davis, who was 5-for-5 in a Sweet 16 win over Eastern Michigan in 1991.

In addition, Davis’ six made 3-pointers ties the program record for most made in a game matching Caleb Love (did it twice), Marcus Paige, and Shammond Williams.

Elliot Cadeau finished with 9 points and 12 assists. Seth Trimble added 14 points, Ven-Allen Lubin had 12, and Jae’Lyn Withers chipped in 10 while also grabbing 10 rebounds.

UNC improved to 23-13 and the Aztecs closed their season 21-10.

In winning, UNC picked up its 134 NCAA Tournament victory, more than any other program. The 11 seed Tar Heels also advance to the formal first round where they will face 6 seed Mississippi on Friday in Milwaukee.

Here is a Deep Dive into UNC’s win over San Diego State: