CHARLOTTE – North Carolina is headed to the Sweet 16 again.
There is nothing new about the Tar Heels advancing to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament and regional semifinals, as this is now the program’s 38th time as one of the final 16 teams alive.
But it’s somewhat new to most of the current roster.
Only veteran holdovers RJ Davis and Armando Bacot have been this far in the big dance. The rest of the Tar Heels are entering into unchartered territory. But they expected this, and the Heels say they are ready for this next step.
“Excited. We’re blessed, we’re all thankful. It means a lot to us,” said sophomore guard Seth Trimble. “We worked all year, went through some rough patches, but we’ve overcome a lot this year, and I think we’ve worked through it and it’s really shown.”
Carolina (29-7) advanced after taking care of 9-seed Michigan State, 85-69, in the second round Saturday at Spectrum Center. The Heels used a 23-3 run to close the first half, and a 14-2 spurt late in the contest to earn the victory and advance, where they will face the winner of Sunday’s Alabama-Grand Canyon game.
Whoever meets up with West Region top seed UNC on Thursday in Los Angeles, the Heels will go from playing two hours from campus, like they did this weekend, to play on the other coast.
“We all like playing against hostile crowds,” Trimble said. “Everybody’s favorite game was playing (at) Duke. We love going to away games and trying to take over gyms. So, that’s the goal. It doesn’t change from the regular season. We go to L.A., try to be the bad guys and take things away.”
Carolina Coach Hubert Davis has boasted about his team’s nonconference schedule all season, and how it’s helped the Heels grow and build. Regardless of who else the Heels face in California, they have been groomed for this part of the calendar.
“In terms of moving forward, I wouldn't say just today, but for the whole year,” Davis said after the win over the Spartans. “If you look at our nonconference schedule, it was real. Then you get into conference, and we were able to win the regular season ACC title.
“So, we've been in tough physical matchups, highly competitive competitions like today. So, it just continues to build confidence for us moving forward, but not just particularly for this game, but for what we had to do the entire season.”
And even though the Heels will be mere miles from Hollywood, the script won’t change. They are who they are at this point, and the comfort within staying the course should be an asset.
“Yeah, Sweet 16, kind of have the same approach, take it one game at a time,” senior guard and ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis said. “Go out to LA, handle business… Have that same approach and mindset we had for Charlotte.”
