How No. 1-seeded North Carolina dismantled No. 9 Washington to advance to the Sweet 16

There was a noticeable sense of jubilation around the locker room here Sunday afternoon after North Carolina’s 81-59 win against No. 9 seeded Washington.

One that was missing after the Iona game, where they found themselves down five points at halftime before coming back to win 88-73 on Friday.

This game was different. Once the game got going, there was little doubt that the top-ranked Tar Heels would win. North Carolina never trailed Washington, nor was the score ever tied.

The Tar Heels took an 18-point lead with 14:22 left in the second half, and won by 22.

While Cam Johnson and Luke Maye finished their on court interviews after the game, their teammates waited back in the locker room. When Johnson and Maye entered the locker room, they were mobbed by their teammates, who poured water on their heads as they jumped up and down.

The number 16 was written with a square around it on a white board in the front, visible enough for everyone to see. A few minutes earlier, their coach, Roy Williams, wrote it to show that they were one of the final 16 teams in the NCAA tournament field.

They were back in the Sweet 16 after a heart breaking defeat in the second round last year to Texas A&M.

“It’s just a lot of fun,” Johnson said, as he looked back at the white board with a smile. “We want that box to keep going. Obviously we didn’t see that last year, so that felt pretty good.”

When the Tar Heels got on a roll in the second half on Sunday, it was hard to stop them.

They led by eight points at halftime but went on a 13-3 run at the start of the second half to take a 18-point lead. Maye, a senior forward, was a big part of that surge, as was freshman forward Nassir Little.

Maye finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds, his 15th double-double of the season. Little had 20 points and seven rebounds.

The Tar Heels advanced to Kansas City, where they will face No. 5-seeded Auburn. Auburn beat No. 4-seeded Kansas 89-75 in the second round on Saturday.

North Carolina (29-6) is 23-9 in second-round games since the tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, and 4-3 in the second round in the last seven seasons.

North Carolina has made it to the Sweet 16 in 10 of 15 years with Williams as head coach.

Washington (27-9), which won the Pac-12 regular season title, was athletic and quick, but couldn’t keep up with the top-seeded Tar Heels.

The Tar Heels got off to a fast start, leading 31-18 after 11 minutes of play. White, who had only 10 points in North Carolina’s first-round game against Iona, found his shooting stroke. He hit four of his first five shots, including a step-back 3-pointer from the right wing. All four of his makes were 3-pointers and he had 12 points at halftime.

Maye was also efficient. He led the Tar Heels with 13 points and had eight rebounds at halftime.

Washington didn’t waver in the first half. The Huskies’ defense improved as the game wore on. They forced the Tar Heels into 10 first-half turnovers and ended the half on a 13-7 run to cut the Tar Heels’ lead to eight points at halftime.

For the second consecutive game, when the buzzer sounded to end the first half, Roy Williams looked visibly frustrated as he walked back in the tunnel.

But that was as bad as it would get for UNC.

The Huskies scored only 26 points in the second half.

Sophomore forward Garrison Brooks suffered a busted lip and a fractured tooth in the first half. He returned in the second half, but will need to go to the dentist when he returns home.

Senior guard Kenny Williams suffered a left hamstring injury 12 seconds into the second half after coming up with a steal. He went back to the locker room but returned to the game midway through the second half. The Tar Heel fans in Nationwide Arena gave him a standing ovation.

When Williams returned, the Tar Heels continued to add to the lead.

Little, a 6-6, 220-pound forward was effective in the middle of the zone, as he was against Iona, when he scored 19 points. On Sunday, he scored 11 straight points in the second half, capping it off with a dunk to give the Tar Heels an 18-point lead.

“But he’s such a gifted guy around that basket, so quick, jumps so high that I think he himself is realizing it more now than he did early in the practices and early in the games,” Roy Williams said.

A Cameron Johnson 3-pointer with 6:37 remaining extended the Tar Heels’ lead to 19 points and iced the game.

Four players scored in double figures Sunday. Freshman Coby White had 17 points and six rebounds. Johnson finished with 13 points and seven assists.

It was a complete performance for a team hoping to get back to the Final Four for the third time in four years.

“To lose that way and to have Joel (Berry) and Theo (Pinson) go out like that was really hard, especially for the guys who felt like it was on us,” Maye said. “And, I mean, I feel like it’s just a testament to how hard we worked and get back to the spot.”

This story was originally published March 24, 2019 at 5:07 PM.