By R.L. Bynum
MILWAUKEE — The trajectory of Carolina’s season is strikingly similar to 2022 when February struggles and doubt gave way to an outstanding run aided by a 3-point shooter at the four spot. It remains to be seen whether this No. 11-seed UNC team (23–13) can approach the 2022 feats of the No. 8-seed 2022 Tar Heels, who finished 29–10 and made the national championship game. But there is a similar vibe entering Carolina’s 4:05 p.m. Friday first-round game (TNT) at the Fiserv Forum against No. 6-seed Ole Miss (22–11).
The roster, other than RJ Davis, has completely changed, and the mix of players is very different. But he admits he feels similar emotions as he works to continue his college career. “I think it definitely gives us a little bit of some flashbacks,” said Davis, who scored 26 points and six 3-pointers in Tuesday’s 95–68 First Four victory in Dayton, Ohio, over San Diego State. “Obviously, being a little bit of low seed, and just our backs against the walls and playing with a lot of motivation, a lot of things to prove. I think that can give you some similarities to the 2022 run.”
Both teams had rock-bottom February losses: the home setback against Pittsburgh in 2022 and the embarrassing 85–65 defeat on Feb. 10 this season at Clemson. “I would say the biggest difference would be experience,” Davis said. “We had a lot of older guys and returning players that had been with each other for a long time,” Davis said, pointing to himself, Caleb Love, Armando Bacot and Leaky Black but noting Brady Manek as the exception. Davis says this season’s team is much younger, with many more new pieces added in the offseason than in 2022, with three freshmen and three transfers. “A lot of guys have really not had a chance to experience March Madness,” Davis said. “In terms of the talent, I think this is probably one of the most talented teams I’ve been on.”
Jae’Lyn Withers, who played for Louisville in 2022, said he followed the run and has talked about it with Davis. When he became a full-time starter against Clemson, he helped change the season’s arc, much like Brady Manek did when he became the starter after Dawson Garcia left the team. “I definitely see the similarities and other comparisons. I think that I’m me. But, at the same time, I definitely think that the comparisons are pretty good coming from how my career started here,” said Withers, who has only interacted with Manek on Instagram.
Withers’ volume of 3-pointers (38 this season vs. 98 for Manek in 2021–22) doesn’t compare, but his 39.6% 3-point shooting percentage is nearly as high as Manek’s 40.3%. Both percentages led those respective teams. While Manek’s other intangibles included his vocal leadership, Withers’ game-changing other asset is the energy he brings to the court and his ability to get some big rebounds. Seth Trimble was a high school senior who had already signed with UNC when he attended the 2022 Final Four in the Superdome. There, he saw the Tar Heels knock off Duke, ending Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s coaching career. “I can’t even imagine what it feels like getting there as a player, but just as a fan and as a potential future player, being there [was amazing],” Trimble said. “We’re not really trying to compare ourselves to 2022. That was a different group. They made an amazing run.”
Friday, UNC can take the next step. NOTES — The UNC team flew from Dayton to Milwaukee at 2:50 a.m. Wednesday morning, after briefly going to its Dayton hotel to get luggage. Had the Tar Heels lost, they would have stayed in Dayton overnight and flown home during the day Wednesday. The team practiced at 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Milwaukee Bucks’ practice facility. … It will be the program’s third game in Wisconsin after losing to Pitt and Dartmouth in 1941 and beating Marquette 66–64 on Jan. 19, 1986, the day after opening the Smith Center with a win over Duke. Assistant Coach Jeff Lebo was a freshman on that team. … This will be the first UNC-Ole Miss meeting in nearly 100 years and third overall. The schools split the first two, which both were in the Southern Conference tournament in Atlanta: Ole Miss won 34–32 on Feb. 28, 1923, and UNC won 38–23 on March 1, 1926. … Carolina is 0–3 against SEC teams after losing to Auburn 85–72 in Maui, Alabama 94–79 in Chapel Hill and Florida 90–84 in Charlotte.
