Tipping point lands Tar Heels in Sweet 16
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Kennedy Meeks had 16 points and a huge tip-in with 44.2 seconds left to help North Carolina avoid a huge upset by rallying to beat Arkansas 72-65 in Sunday’s second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Justin Jackson added 15 points for the Tar Heels (29-7), including the dunk that capped a game-closing 12-0 run by the South Region’s No. 1 seed to help it survive a wild game.
North Carolina led by 17 points after a dominating start, blew that lead and trailed 6560 with about 3½ minutes left, then came up with a response befitting its veteran experience.
Isaiah Hicks came up big late, too, with a dunk and four free throws in the final two minutes to help UNC survive.
Daryl Macon scored 19 points to lead the eighth-seeded Razorbacks (26-10), who did everything right in the second half — except close out the Tar Heels.
The Razorbacks had UNC wobbling with their aggressive, mistake-forcing defense harassing the Tar Heels all over the court. When Jaylen Barford scored in transition, Arkansas led 65-60 with 3:28 left.
But the Tar Heels — loaded with returnees from a team that played in last year’s national championship game — responded in a huge way. Joel Berry II hit two free throws with 2:56 left, Jackson found Hicks for a dunk, then Hicks hit two free throws after being fouled on a rebound to put UNC up 66-65 with 1:44 left.
Then came Meeks’ big moment. With the shot clock winding down, Berry drove and collided with Adrio Bailey, forcing him to fling the ball onto the backboard to avoid the travel. Meeks, battling for position, tapped it in to give the Tar Heels the lead.