FORT WORTH, Texas. RJ Davis scored a career-high 30 points thanks to a great layup when he was fouled in overtime, and eighth seed North Carolina squandered a 25-point lead in the second half but still found a way to beat defending champion Baylor. 93-86 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
Brady Manek scored a season-high 26 points before being sent off for a flagrant foul midway through the second half, just after his 3-pointer gave the Tar Heels (26-9) the biggest lead.
A year after being eliminated in the first round of the tournament in the final game of retiring coach Roy Williams, Davis, Armando Bacott and those Tar Heels (26-9) head to Philadelphia and the Sweet 16 for freshman coach Hubert Davis.
Davis scored his only points in overtime from an unbalanced layup with 1:18 left and added a free throw to give a 91–85 lead.
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Adam Flagler had 27 points for Baylor (27-7), who only made one field goal in overtime. James Akinjo scored 20 points and Jeremy Sochan had 15 points and 11 rebounds.
All-ACC power forward Armando Bakot had 15 points and 16 rebounds for North Carolina. Missing three of four free throws in the final 38 seconds of regulation time, he made three of five in overtime.
The Tar Heels won for the third time as the #8 seed over the top seed. They did it en route to the Final Four in 2000, 10 years after beating Oklahoma when Davis was a Dean Smith player.
Baylor lost in the second round for the second time in the last three NCAA tournaments. The Bears, who lost to the top-seeded Gonzaga in the Round of 16 three years ago, were trying to repeat the biggest comeback in NCAA Tournament history.
It was a deficit that Bears fans were simply not used to after a dominant tournament last season in which they sealed the title with a win over Gonzaga in Indianapolis.
Manek, a Big 12 alumnus from Oklahoma, was ejected with 10:08 left after his left elbow hit Sochan in the face while they were fighting under Baylor’s basket. Manek just made a 3-pointer that gave the Tar Heels a 67-42 lead.
With Manek out and Caleb Love fouled soon after, the Tar Heels had 10 losses as Baylor turned up the pressure and made a furious rally.
The Bears got within 76-73 in a three-point game with 1:48 left for Akinjo, who had another with 16 seconds left to tie the game at 80-80. North Carolina had another shot, but Davis’ three-pointer hit the front of the hoop.
The Tar Heels will play either UCLA or Saint Mary’s in Sweet 16.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.