SDSU Aztecs and North Carolina Tar Heels meet in Dayton, Ohio, for the First Four of the NCAA Tournament

Tuesday, March 18 – 6:10 p.m. – TruTV

There is nothing March Madness. The feeling of witnessing one of the greatest tournaments in American sports is a thrill. There is nothing like watching a team you support make a deep run. The San Diego State Aztecs know a thing or two about that.

SDSU and the North Carolina Tar Heels feel relieved at the moment as they were chosen as one of the last four teams to make the Big Dance. As 11-seeds, the winner of the First Four matchup would go on to play No. 6 Ole Miss in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Friday at 1:10 p.m.

“I’m really proud of our group to make the NCAA Tournament again it’s a tremendous accomplishment,” head coach Brian Dutcher said during Selection Sunday. “Especially due to the fact that we lost 90% of our scoring from a year ago. To have this young team come in and play with such heart and play their way into the tournament is a tremendous credit to them. We are excited to go play a very good North Carolina team in Dayton.”

How Did North Carolina Get Here?

Good question. The Tar Heels are a blue blood of college hoops. However, the 2024-25 campaign did not go their way. It’s shocking that the Tar Heels are dancing, but despite that, they are more than capable of making a run. Just three seasons ago, they played in the National Championship game in the loss to Kansas. The following season, SDSU lost to UConn. These two teams are meeting for the third time ever with UNC owning both wins.

North Carolina ended the season 22-13 and recently lost to Duke in a three-point game in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. They defeated Notre Dame and Wake Forest to get there and almost upset Duke to advance to the tournament final. They were very close, and if it had not been for a lane violation, they may have won. Before losing to Duke in the final regular season game, they had won six straight.

The regular season was frustrating for them, especially in non-conference play. Their biggest win was against No. 18 UCLA. They even lost to Stanford at home, where they were 12-3 overall. In ACC play, UNC ended 13-7, which earned them the 5-seed. UNC ended 1-8 against ranked teams and 1-12 against Quad 1 opponents. If this game against SDSU is any indication of how their regular season went, then they should feel worried about their chances.

Getting To Know the Tar Heels

The Tar Heels ended the regular season ranked 32nd in points per game at 80.8. They will be facing the Aztecs’ gritty defense, which should make it very tough to reach that average. SDSU ended the nation No. 1 in opponent’s field goal percentage per game at just 37.8%. UNC shoots a respectable 47.6% from the field and are led by one of the best guards in the nation.

RJ Davis leads the team in scoring at 17.0 points per game on 40.9% shooting. He adds 88.5% from the free-throw line and shoots 34.5% from beyond the arc. He also adds 3.7 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game. Davis’ season high of 30 points came in the win over Dayton early in the season in Maui. He’s been a consistent scorer throughout his career but only scored eight points in the loss to Duke last time out. It’s expected that the Tar Heels will rely heavily on his production, facing one of the nation’s top defenses.

The backcourt leads the team in scoring. Ian Jackson and Seth Trimble both average north of 10 points per game and shoot above 42% from the floor. Elliot Cadeau is fourth on the team in scoring at 9.5 points per game. He adds 6.0 assists per game, which is tied for 17th in the nation.

The Tar Heels don’t contain much size. They may start Jalen Washington to give them extra size, with Magoon Gwath likely returning to action for the Aztecs. He is 6-foot-10 and has started 16 times this season. However, he played only five minutes in the loss to Duke in the semifinals. The junior averages 15.9 minutes per game as well and may be needed to protect the rim. UNC is very guard-heavy, and head coach Hubert Davis usually plays nine deep with six guards in the rotation.

North Carolina is 36th in NET and 4-4 on neutral courts this season.

“I’m pretty familiar with their roster they have some known players,” Miles Byrd said on Sunday. “We are going to be playing against a historical program, but out here on the West Coast, I think we are a pretty historical program as well. It’s going to be a lot of fun playing against a team like that.”

What To Expect

It’s expected that we will see a close game that will come down to the wire on Tuesday night. This game will be highly anticipated because there are a lot of people tuning in to watch the beginning of the NCAA Tournament.

Gwath is back. Dutcher said he looked good in practice on Sunday and that he should be a “100% go.” That is great news for the Aztecs, as they seriously need his defensive production against UNC.

Key to Victory

The Aztecs’ defense will put them in a position to win this game. They must stay consistent offensively and cash in on their free throws. Free throw shooting continues to be a problem for the Aztecs, and they must clean that up to keep their season alive.

Offensively, the Aztecs need Nick Boyd to continue to be aggressive. The more he is, the better the team is offensively. He can attack the basket and facilitate. Byrd also needs to get it going. He has not seen success on offense over the last few weeks, but we are all aware of how capable he is to light up the arena. The Aztecs need a strong performance from their young star.

Both teams will make mistakes. Whoever makes the fewest will come out on top.

Chris Spiering

Chris is a graduate of the University of San Diego. He is the former Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris has covered the San Diego Loyal, and now covers San Diego State Men’s Basketball. He also contributes regularly about the Padres. Chris is an athlete and is a huge fan of San Diego sports.