Getty Images
North Carolina and San Diego State are set to stay alive in the NCAA Tournament Tuesday night when the First Four tips off. This will be North Carolina’s second straight NCAA Tournament appearance under Hubert Davis, while San Diego State has made the “Big Dance” in each of the past five seasons.
The Tar Heels just narrowly made the field after falling in the ACC Tournament championship to in-state rival Duke. Though North Carolina didn’t impress with a 22-13 overall record — similar to the 20-13 record that kept it out of the 2022 NCAA Tournament — the Tar Heels benefitted from favorable metrics, a weak bubble and a lack of bid stealers from conference tournaments.
It’s bracket time! Play for a Nissan Armada and Final Four® trips by joining our Men’s and Women’s Challenges.
It’s odd to see a traditional blue blood in North Carolina’s position, but the Tar Heels have an opportunity to cement their status against the Aztecs, which were one of four Mountain West teams to make the NCAA Tournament.
San Diego State had an abbreviated run in the MWC Tournament, losing to Boise State in the quarterfinal round. Still, the Aztecs have shown the ability to get hot in March in recent years. In 2023, they blitzed their way to the national title game and followed that up in 2024 with a Sweet 16 appearance.
Where to watch North Carolina vs. San Diego State live
Date: Tuesday, March 18 | Time: 9:10 p.m. ET
Location: UD Arena — Dayton, Ohio
TV: truTV [channel locator] | Live stream: March Madness Live
North Carolina vs. San Diego State: Need to know
Let the hate fuel you: North Carolina was a controversial inclusion in this year’s NCAA Tournament, to say the least. The Tar Heels making it despite being 1-12 in Quad 1 games sparked tons of outcry and conspiracy theories about Bubba Cunningham — who serves as both North Carolina’s athletic director and the NCAA Tournament selection committee chair — and his role in the selection process. North Carolina is well aware of all the vitriol.
“I think we’ve all kind of felt the hate, the disagreement, all that, from everybody outside of the Carolina family and fan base,” junior guard Seth Trimble said. “We’re just running with it. We definitely feel like we’ve got something to prove. We wanted to be better this year, but we deal with the cards at hand.”
If the Tar Heels are smart, they’ll use it as extra motivation. There’s something to be said about having a mental advantage in March, and while the players shouldn’t be distracted by online naysayers, it would certainly give North Carolina an extra edge to prove them wrong.
All eyes on Gwath: San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said that 7-foot redshirt freshman Magoon Gwath should be good to go for the NCAA Tournament after missing the last six games with a knee injury. Gwath, the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, is huge — quite literally — for the Aztecs on both ends of the floor. He led the Mountain West in both total blocks (66) and blocks per game (2.6) — even accounting for his missed time — and also contributes 8.5 and 5.2 rebounds per game. He’s also hitting threes at a 37.2% clip on 43 attempts.
His status is still worth monitoring. Knee injuries are tricky, especially for players with Gwath’s height, and it could take him a bit to get back up to game speed. Even so, he could be trouble for a North Carolina team that likes to work its offense inside.
One last ride for Davis: RJ Davis has seen it all at North Carolina. He signed to play for Roy Williams in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, was a key figure on North Carolina’s 2021-22 team that made it all the way to the NCAA Tournament championship, saw the Tar Heels fail to make the tournament in 2022-23 and then helped them to a Sweet 16 run last season. Through it all, he’s been a consistent, veteran presence that can fill the stat sheet up on the offensive side of the ball. In five years of basketball, he became the first player in North Carolina history to hit 300-plus career 3-point shots, moved into third place on the ACC all-time scoring least and became the second leading scorer in UNC’s storied history. Now it all culminates in one final March run.
