MILWAUKEE — In an intense NCAA Tournament matchup, Sean Pedulla’s pivotal 3-pointer with 52.8 seconds left helped Ole Miss secure a 71-64 victory over North Carolina on Friday, despite nearly losing a commanding 22-point advantage in the second half.
Ranked as the No. 6 seed in the South Region, Ole Miss (23-11) is set to pursue its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2001. They will face No. 3 seed Iowa State (25-9) on Sunday, which overwhelmed Lipscomb with an 82-55 win in the other Friday afternoon game in Milwaukee.
For Ole Miss, this tournament marks a notable return to the NCAA stage as their first appearance since 2019. Their last tournament victory occurred over BYU, with a score of 94-90 in the 2015 First Four. The Rebels hadn’t progressed past the round of 64 since reaching it in 2013.
The Tar Heels of North Carolina (23-14) fought valiantly to make Ole Miss earn their win. RJ Davis narrowed the gap significantly, driving to score a three-point play, which reduced Ole Miss’ lead to just 66-64 with 1:09 left. In a decisive moment, Pedulla then sank Ole Miss’ sole successful 3-pointer out of seven second-half attempts.
Following a missed 3-pointer from North Carolina’s Drake Poell with 43 seconds left, Ole Miss capitalized, converting four of their five final free-throw attempts.
Sean Pedulla led the Rebels with 20 points, with contributions from Dre Davis’ 15 points and Jaemyn Brakefield’s 12 points. On the North Carolina side, RJ Davis scored 15 points, while Ven-Allen Lubin added 14. North Carolina had progressed to the round of 64 following a decisive 95-68 victory over San Diego State in the First Four match.
Throughout much of the game, Ole Miss maintained control, never trailing. Midway through the second half, they held strong with a 50-30 lead with over 16 minutes remaining, which they largely preserved even as North Carolina’s Jae’lyn Withers left the game after a right leg injury.
As the clock ticked down, the Tar Heels launched a spirited rally: Jalen Wahington’s one-handed dunk was the highlight of an 11-0 run that cut Ole Miss’ lead to 63-59 with just over five minutes to play.
RJ Davis, capping his North Carolina career, concludes as the second all-time scorer in school history with 2,725 points, trailing only Tyler Hansbrough. The only other player from the Atlantic Coast Conference to surpass Davis in scoring is JJ Redick from Duke, with 2,769 points.
The outcome was the latest blow to the ACC, with North Carolina’s defeat contributing to a week full of challenges. Among the four ACC teams that entered the tournament, only Duke managed to secure a spot in the round of 32. Teams like Louisville and Clemson saw their journeys end early, with Louisville falling 89-75 to Creighton and Clemson narrowly losing 69-67 to McNeese.