NCAA Tournament “First Four” Preview:
North Carolina vs. San Diego State (Tuesday, 9:10 p.m., truTV)

By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network

North Carolina coach Hubert Davis led the Tar Heels on a stunning run to the 2022 NCAA championship game as a #8 seed.

San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher led the Aztecs on a stunning run to the 2023 NCAA championship game as a #5 seed.

While Kansas and UConn won those national title contests, Davis (then a first-year head coach) and Dutcher were able to place their respective programs in the most desirable March Madness spotlight for three weeks running.

This year, instead of serving as part of the closing act for the NCAA Tournament, Davis and Dutcher have their squads squaring off as part of the event’s opening night.

The 2025 Big Dance begins Tuesday with two “First Four” matchups. UNC and SDSU — a pair of #11 seeds that barely made the event as at-large selections this time — will battle in the nightcap (9:10 p.m., truTV).

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Tuesday’s matchup between the Tar Heels and the Aztecs is one of clashing styles.

In terms of season-long efficiency, UNC has played the second-best offense in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season, behind only #1 Duke. San Diego State, meanwhile, ranks first in the Mountain West Conference and 13th nationally in defensive efficiency.

The Aztecs absolutely swarm opponents in the paint, on both entry passes to the post (not a UNC strength this season) and drives toward the hoop (the preferred path of multiple Tar Heels this season).

That means the Heels likely will need both good ball movement and at least a couple of players shooting well from the perimeter to get a victory.

Fifth-year senior guard RJ Davis, a first-team All-American for Carolina last year, started slowly this season but has played much better in recent weeks, even against defenses designed to stop him. A bunch of his teammates — i.e., Elliot Cadeau, Drake Powell, Jae’Lyn Withers, Seth Trimble and Ian Jackson — are capable of supplementing his perimeter production on any given night, but none has been consistent in that regard, and those players’ confidence levels in their 3-point shooting seem to vary dramatically from game to game.

Meanwhile, one possible complication for SDSU is that its top defender hasn’t played for almost a month. Redshirt freshman Magoon Gwath, a slender (7-0, 205) but very effective shot-blocker and the MWC’s Defensive Player of the Year, hasn’t competed since Feb. 22 because of a knee injury. Gwath is expected to play against UNC.

BPI/KenPom/KPI/NET Team Rankings (of 364 teams):
North Carolina — 25/33/54/36
San Diego State — 54/46/39/52

Offensive/Defensive Efficiency Rankings (of 364 teams):
North Carolina — 22/53
San Diego State — 111/13

2024-25 San Diego State Aztecs
(21-9, 14-6/4th MWC; through March 17)

STARTERS

PG Nick Boyd, Sr. (6-3/175) — 2024 FAU transfer (2-year starter)
30 mpg, 13 ppg, 4 rpg, 42% FG, 75% FT, 36% threes, 119/54 ATO, 30 steals, 0 blocks

G BJ Davis, So. (6-2/175) — HS signee (top-200 in Class of 2023)
24 mpg, 9 ppg, 3 rpg, 43% FG, 78% FT, 37% threes, 35/29 ATO, 46 steals, 4 blocks

G Miles Byrd, r-So. (6-7/190) — HS signee (top-200 in Class of 2022)
30 mpg, 13 ppg, 5 rpg, 38% FG, 83% FT, 31% threes, 81/44 ATO, 62 steals, 31 blocks

F Jared Coleman-Jones, Sr. (6-10/235) — 2024 MTSU transfer (starter)
26 mpg, 7 ppg, 5 rpg, 44% FG, 60% FT, 34% threes, 28/31 ATO, 17 steals, 19 blocks

F Magoon Gwath, r-Fr. (7-0/205) — HS signee (unranked in Class of 2023)
25 mpg, 9 ppg, 5 rpg, 51% FG, 65% FT, 37% threes, 18/37 ATO, 10 steals, 66 blocks

KEY RESERVES

G Taj DeGourville, Fr. (6-5/208) — HS signee (top-200 in Class of 2024)
19 mpg, 5 ppg, 3 rpg, 38% FG, 71% FT, 31% threes, 56/37 ATO, 19 steals, 10 blocks

G Wayne McKinney III, Sr. (6-0/198) — 2024 USD transfer (3-year starter)
19 mpg, 6 ppg, 2 rpg, 38% FG, 63% FT, 31% threes, 20/17 ATO, 13 steals, 6 blocks

F Miles Heide, So. (6-10/233) — HS signee (top-100 in Class of 2023)
17 mpg, 4 ppg, 4 rpg, 73% FG, 30% FT, 20% threes, 16/24 ATO, 10 steals, 8 blocks

F Pharoah Compton, Fr. (6-8/245) — HS signee (top-150 in Class of 2024)
13 mpg, 5 ppg, 3 rpg, 65% FG, 37% FT, 0 threes, 12/25 ATO, 18 steals, 15 blocks

*—2023-24 starter (started at least 50% of SDSU’s games last season)

2024-25 North Carolina Tar Heels
(22-13, 13-7/4th ACC; through March 17)

STARTERS

PG Elliot Cadeau*, So., (6-1/180) — HS signee (2023 prep All-American)
28 mpg, 10 ppg, 3 rpg, 45% FG, 67% FT, 33% threes, 211/108 ATO, 8 blocks, 34 steals

G RJ Davis*, Gr., (6-0/180) — 2020 HS signee (2024 ACC POY, 1st-team A-A)
34 mpg, 17 ppg, 4 rpg, 41% FG, 89% FT, 35% threes, 130/55 ATO, 3 blocks, 37 steals

G/F Drake Powell, Fr., (6-6/225) — HS signee (2024 prep All-American)
25 mpg, 8 ppg, 3 rpg, 50% FG, 65% FT, 37% threes, 36/25 ATO, 23 blocks, 24 steals

F Jae’Lyn Withers, Gr., (6-9/215) — 2023 Louisville transfer (3-year starter)
17 mpg, 6 ppg, 4 rpg, 49% FG, 71% FT, 44% threes, 24/27 ATO, 14 blocks, 15 steals

F Ven-Allen Lubin, Jr., (6-8/226) — 2024 Vanderbilt transfer (starter)
20 mpg, 9 ppg, 6 rpg, 68% FG, 67% FT, 0 threes, 11/29 ATO, 33 blocks, 14 steals

KEY RESERVES

G Seth Trimble, Jr., (6-3/195) — HS signee (top-50 in Class of 2022)
29 mpg, 12 ppg, 5 rpg, 43% FG, 81% FT, 28% threes, 44/35 ATO, 11 blocks, 45 steals

G Ian Jackson, Fr., (6-5/185) — HS signee (2024 prep All-American)
25 mpg, 12 ppg, 3 rpg, 46% FG, 73% FT, 40% threes, 32/42 ATO, 7 blocks, 19 steals

C Jalen Washington, Jr., (6-10/230) — HS signee (top-50 in Class of 2022)
16 mpg, 6 ppg, 4 rpg, 58% FG, 64% FT, 28% threes, 18/36 ATO, 29 blocks, 9 steals

F Cade Tyson, Gr., (6-6/225) — 2024 Belmont transfer (2-year starter)
8 mpg, 3 ppg, 1 rpg, 42% FG, 56% FT, 30% threes, 2/4 ATO, 1 block, 5 steals

Departures from 2023-24: C Armando Bacot* (Ss./G League), BF Harrison Ingram* (Jr./early NBA entry/San Antonio Spurs), C James Okonkwo (Jr./transfer/Akron), WG Cormac Ryan* (Ss./G League), WG Paxson Wójcik (Ss./Poland)

*—2023-24 starter (started at least 50% of UNC’s games last season)