The eighth seed UNC men’s basketball team (18-11, 10-6 ACC) fell, 85-62, to the ninth seed Wisconsin Badgers (18-12, 10-10 ACC) on Friday night in Indianapolis in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. This was head coach Roy Williams’ first time losing in the opening round of the tournament after 29 wins.
What happened?
The game opened slowly as both teams were scoreless two minutes into the game. Wisconsin opened the scoring, and the Badgers' guards quickly racked up field goals until the deficit was brought to 8-2 with nearly five off the clock, UNC’s points coming from two free throws from first-year Kerwin Walton.
While the young UNC team sought to keep up with the experienced Badgers team, the Wisconsin shooters proved to be an issue. D’Mitrik Trice and Micah Potter made quick shots from the 3-point mark, but were answered by UNC’s first-year guards with a jumper from Caleb Love and a 3-point jumper from RJ Davis, bringing the score to 16-12 at the under-12 media timeout.
Sophomore guard Anthony Harris brought the score within two, before a rebound by Davis and a spin move layup by first-year big Day'Ron Sharpe tied things up. Wisconsin only led by four with just under seven minutes to play in the half, despite controlling the offensive glass and getting chances on wide-open 3-pointers.
Despite the deficit, UNC went ice cold, not scoring for over three minutes until Harris made a layup with under five to play. The Badgers were able to establish a 12-3 run to increase their lead to double digits, 32-21. In the final minutes of the opening half, Wisconsin’s Brad Davison sunk two 3-point jumpers to send the teams into halftime, 40-24.
Sophomore center Armando Bacot got his first bucket of the night to start the second half, going on to dominate with 15 points in just over eight minutes. But Trice and Davison, again, sank two more threes to keep the momentum in favor of the Badgers.
Add on a 3-ball for the Badgers from Aleem Ford and a jumper from Davison with 15 left to play, and the Tar Heels found themselves down 53-37. UNC came out with energy, but just couldn’t handle Wisconsin's pinpoint shooting.
The Badgers increased their lead to 15 with just under six minutes to play, and the Tar Heels’ efforts to chip away their lead simply weren't enough. Despite a last-minute push, the Tar Heels were trailing by 20 in the final minute, as Wisconsin continued to dominate until the end.
