UNC Tar Heels silence critics, dominate San Diego State to win 'First Four' game in NCAA Tournament

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Since the NCAA Tournament bracket was announced, the North Carolina Tar Heels have caught tons of backlash, as many believed they should’ve been left out of the 68 teams who made "The Dance."

Perhaps those haters have been silenced now. 

The Tar Heels demolished the San Diego State Aztecs in their "First Four" matchup on Tuesday night, 95-68, to earn the No. 11 seed in the South Region. UNC will move on to face No. 6 Ole miss in the first round on Friday. 

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San Diego State Aztecs guard Wayne McKinney III (3) plays the ball defended by North Carolina Tar Heels guard RJ Davis (4) in the first half  at UD Arena. (Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images)

UNC was the last team to get awarded a spot in the tournament, and they still had to play for their seed in Dayton, Ohio against one of the premier defenses in college basketball. Head coach Brian Dutcher’s Aztecs can be smothering on that end of the floor, but the Tar Heels didn’t make it seem that way on Tuesday night. 

They erupted in the first half, shooting 60.9% as a team (14-23) and made all but two of their nine three-pointers in the process. They also went 12-of-12 from the charity stripe to come away with 47 points, which were capped by RJ Davis’ three-pointer as the buzzer sounded for halftime. 

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Meanwhile, the Aztecs were struggling on the offensive end to go along with their defensive shortcomings, shooting just 26.7% in the first half, and going just 4-of-16 from beyond the arc. They finished the half with 23 points, and the 24-point