COLUMBUS, OH – Never mind the nerves, it’s tournament time.

That’s the thought process North Carolina’s freshmen corralled at some point Friday night, perhaps during or after the Tar Heels defeated Iona in a first-round game in the Midwest Region here at Nationwide Arena.

“It’s exciting, but the sense of nervousness, we’ve got to put that aside and be able to relax and focus on the games,” UNC freshman Nassir Little said, following the top seed’s 88-73 win over the No. 16 seed.

“Don’t let the nerves get you out of your element.”

Garrison Brooks, who is a sophomore and had his first NCAA Tournament experience a year ago, admitted the Tar Heels were a bit nervous before taking on Iona. It’s the tournament, so that’s going to happen.

That explains in part why the Heels played so poorly in the first half and trailed by five points at halftime. The one Heel who didn’t appear affected by nerves or really anything was Little, who scored eight crucial points keeping he deficit fairly respectable by the intermission.

His fellow freshmen in blue? Starting point guard Coby White and reserve Leaky Black, who saw his first action since injuring his ankle Jan. 29 at Georgia Tech, weren’t as effective as Little but also weren’t all that overwhelmed with the stage. White did acknowledge it was different from the ACC Tournament last weekend in Charlotte.

“Kind of because it’s win or go home,” he said. “But overall, I felt the same like any other game. Just try to go out there and play and do whatever I need to do to get my team the win.”

For Black, getting back into a game 52 days after getting hurt was a big enough deal, but having it also in an NCAA Tournament took it up a notch.

“It was pretty emotional to hear coach call my name to get in the game like that,” Black said. “It ran chills through my body to go out on the floor, it was crazy and I was kind of nervous. But then again, it wasn’t time to be nervous, it was the big stage.”

Little wasn’t nervous, but the experience through one game has exceeded his expectations.

“It was better than I imaged,” he said. “Just the feeling – I never thought I would be here. Just to be able to play for this team in this kind of situation is great.”