UNC men's basketball advances to second straight Sweet 16 with win over Providence

RALEIGH — Again, the North Carolina men's basketball team started out slow. 

Again, UNC was barely ahead at the end of the first half, leading ninth-seeded Providence 34-30 after the first 20 minutes of play.

And again, it didn't make a difference, as the top-seeded Tar Heels outscored the Friars 51-36 during the second half to win their second game of the NCAA Tournament, 85-66, and advance to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year. 

"I know last game in the first half we came out the same way a little bit," said sophomore guard Joel Berry, who finished with 15 points. "But I think this game we turned it on in the second half, and we just have to learn we gotta start turning that on in the first half. 

"You know, we can take a lot of teams out of the game if we can do that."

While Providence was still in the game at halftime, the Tar Heels eventually took the Friars out of it with 7:23 to play in the second half, up 15 points and with Providence forward Ben Bentil — who had 21 points — fouled out of the game. 

That foul trouble for Providence, as well as UNC's improved defensive intensity, provided the spark for the Tar Heels. 

Redshirt junior guard Kris Dunn scored 10 points in the first nine minutes of the game for the Friars and ended with a game-high 29 points. But the future first-round NBA selection was on the court for just 26 minutes because of early foul trouble. 

While Providence had just one more foul (20-19) than UNC over the course of the game, the Tar Heels managed to avoid getting into any serious foul trouble thanks to depth — a regular occurrence for this group all season. 

Those factors, along with a five-minute stretch where Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson teamed up for 16 straight points in their final game at PNC Arena, sealed the victory for UNC. 

Quotable

"We've had 91 practices, I think. 90 or 91. We've harped every day about getting better, getting better. If we do get better, we'll be playing our best basketball at the end of the year. I think we've played our best basketball of the season these last couple of weeks." — Coach Roy Williams on UNC's development over the course of the season. 

Notable

With this win, UNC has won 29 straight NCAA Tournament games in the state of North Carolina and improved its tournament record in the state to 33-1. 

UNC improved to 235-28 in 13 seasons under Williams when it scores at least 80 points in a game. This season, the Tar Heels are 22-1 when they score at least 80 points. 

Three numbers that matter

90.5: UNC's free throw percentage Saturday night, which is the highest mark the Tar Heels have had in a game this season. Johnson (7-for-7), Paige (2-for-2), Berry (2-for-2), Justin Jackson (2-for-2), Isaiah Hicks (3-for-3) and Nate Britt (2-for-2) all were flawless at the charity stripe. 

10: The number of minutes played by Kennedy Meeks, who scored just two points on 1-for-3 shooting. Meeks' presence on the court has seemingly diminished over the past few weeks, while Hicks' has grown. Hicks scored 13 points in 22 minutes and hauled in seven second-half rebounds. 

16: The number of points Providence scored from players not named Dunn or Bentil. Those two were the only Providence players in double figures, and Kyron Cartwright — who finished with seven points — was the only other Friar to score more than two points. 

What's next?

The Tar Heels travel to Philadelphia for their Sweet 16 matchup against Indiana on Friday. The Hoosiers are the No. 5 seed in the East Regional and are coming off a 73-67 win over No. 4 seed Kentucky. 

@CarlosACollazo

sports@dailytarheel.com