March Madness 2022: Tar Heels survive ejection, big rally, beat '21 champ Baylor

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So much for the idea that North Carolina is soft against top-tier competition. These Tar Heels are going to the Sweet 16 after knocking off the defending champions.

No, it wasn’t easy. The Tar Heels blew a 25-point second-half lead after Brady Manek was ejected for a wild elbow and starting guard Caleb Love fouled out, and they had some issues when top-seeded Baylor turned up the full-court pressure. But they never fell behind, played with poise in overtime and pulled out a 93-86 victory Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

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"All year we’ve just been hearing different things about us, how we’re a soft team, how we don’t like to fight," All-Atlantic Coast Conference power forward Armando Bacot said. "Today, I think we really showed that we can fight. To persevere in a moment like that and just come together, I’m just so proud of everyone."

North Carolina guard RJ Davis (4) and forward Armando Bacot (5) celebrate in the second half of a second-round game against Baylor in the NCAA college basketball tournament in Fort Worth, Texas, Saturday, March, 19, 2022.  (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

RJ Davis scored a career-high 30 points with a nifty layup while being fouled in overtime, when Bacot made the tiebreaking free throws after missing three in the final 38 seconds of regulation. Bacot had 15 points and 16 rebounds, along with three blocked shots.

A year after losing in the first round of the tourney in coach Roy Williams’ final game, the Tar Heels (26-9) pulled off a shocker for his successor, Hubert Davis, who moves on to the East Region semifinals in Philadelphia.

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