By Adam Lucas 1. Carolina put on a clinic in dispatching San Diego State, 95-68. The Tar Heels have now won seven of the past 11 games by double figures. 2. That might be the most complete game Carolina has played this year–especially when given the level of competition. The Tar Heels defended fiercely, shot accurately and simply did everything well. It was a beauty to watch. The Heels won almost every category you can imagine: rebounding (37-26), shooting (53 percent for the game to 39 percent for SDSU), free throws (UNC 21-24, SDSU 14-23), points in the paint (30-24), second chance points (16-6), beauty of uniforms (knockout), and anything else you can think of. Remember: the Aztecs were the best field goal percentage defense team in the country. Carolina completely took them apart.

3. Several Tar Heels put themselves in the Carolina NCAA Tournament record book. RJ Davis made six three-pointers, becoming just the fourth Tar Heel to do it (on five separate occasions). He joins Caleb Love (twice in 2022, Marcus Paige in 2016 and Shammond Williams in 1998) in the half-dozen category. Davis finished 8-for-12 from the field, 6-for-6 from three, and had 26 points. He is the only Carolina player ever to go 6-6 from three in a tournament game.

4. Davis was joined in the Carolina backcourt by two other guards who were terrific. Elliot Cadeau had one of his best games as a Carolina player, both offensively and defensively. Cadeau had 12 assists–the most UNC assists in the NCAA Tournament since Kendall Marshall had 14 in 2011–to go with his nine points. But it wasn’t just the offense–the Tar Heel point guard also played very well defensively, grabbing three steals and, sit down for this, zero fouls. 

5. And then there was Seth Trimble. The Wisconsin native–who now will go back close to home to Milwaukee for the next round–was the tip of the defensive spear, even though he was not credited with a steal. Trimble was huge in transition, where Carolina outscored the Aztecs 18-9 in fast break points, and finished with 16 points (he had 15 points total in three NCAA Tournament games last season).

6. Incredible first half from the Tar Heels. Carolina built a 47-23 halftime lead by doing everything better than San Diego State–and playing with more intensity than the Aztecs. The Heels shot 60.9 percent from the field (helped by seven of nine from three-point range). 7. Carolina was almost flawless in that half once they stopped turning it over. The Heels turned it over six times on the first ten possessions…but then didn’t turn it over again for the final 14:40. 8. A big part of that offense was Cadeau. He scored or assisted on 11 of Carolina’s 14 first half field goals. Some of them were easy passes but some had a very high degree of difficulty–like the beautiful touch pass he threw over the top of the San Diego State defense in transition midway through the half. His first half line in 15 minutes: eight assists, seven points, 3-for-3 from the field, just one turnover.

9.. Very weird fact: Carolina has now played three games against San Diego State in the history of the program, and Hubert Davis has been involved in all of them. He was the head coach on Tuesday, of course. And he played in the other two games–a win in 1988 and a win in 1990 in which he scored 16 points. 

10. Just a reminder that the Tar Heels travel very well even in places you wouldn’t expect. A majority of UD Arena was wearing Carolina Blue. And as was the case when Carolina was here in 2006, you really have to give the city of Dayton credit for supporting the NCAA Tournament. It’s obvious that it’s a very big deal and the entire area takes it very seriously. Everything Tuesday night felt like the NCAA Tournament. 11. In the last four NCAA Tournaments, the ACC is now 38-22. The Mountain West is 9-17 in those same events–and San Diego State has seven of those wins, although they definitely didn’t get one on Tuesday. These two conferences are not the same and anyone trying to compare them is wasting everyone’s time.

12. Carolina will now face sixth-seeded Ole Miss on Friday in Milwaukee around 4 p.m. Eastern.