North Carolina is coming into this game with a 23-13 record this season and they were 13-7 in their conference. UNC does not belong in this tournament with the season that they had, but they got an opportunity anyway and they are going to make the most of it. They are coming off of a 95-68 win against San Diego State in the First Four games and they are going to be playing with a chip on their shoulder after having to hear so much about how they do not belong in the tournament. They have been playing much better toward the end of the season anyway and have won 3 of their last 4 as well as 9 of their last 11 games now with both losses in that span coming against Duke. They went 0-3 against the SEC this season, but their 3 losses were against the best teams in Auburn, Florida, and Alabama so they are going to be ready for a weaker team from the same conference and have been playing much better recently with some motivation driving them in this tournament now. They are going up against an Ole Miss team that is 22-11 this season and they were 10-8 in their conference. They finished over .500 in the strongest conference in the country, but they did not end the season well as they have lost 2 of their last 3 as well as 5 of their last 8 games. They were great in the non-conference as they were 11-2, but their 2 losses came against Purdue and Memphis while the only 2 quality wins they had were against Louisville and BYU, neither of those teams hitting their stride yet. UNC may not belong, but they are here now and they are going to be motivated to prove themselves throughout the tournament. They have also been the better shooting team this season and have an advantage at the rim with their rebounding. North Carolina will win this game.