Dayton, Ohio
Seth Trimble called it an “evolution,” how North Carolina went from a team that couldn’t rebound or defend in November and December to a team capable of utterly smothering an opponent as talented as San Diego State.
That evolution was no accident, nor was it merely the organic growth a team often undergoes over the course of a season. The Tar Heels finally hit on the right formula in February. They have never looked back.
R.J. Davis and Elliot Cadeau were always givens in the backcourt. It wasn’t until Hubert Davis settled on Ven-Allen Lubin and Jae’Lyn Withers as his frontcourt, with Drake Powell as the swingman, that the Tar Heels found their groove.
That meant relegating Trimble to the bench, not that his role changed much, but even Trimble could recognize the pieces falling into place.
“It took an evolution,” Trimble said. “The team in November and December, we weren’t a tournament team, we weren’t ready for that next step, and that’s at the offensive and defensive end. Now, everybody’s bought into it, everybody’s bought into the little details, and we’ve just followed principles. It’s taken us somewhere so we just have to keep going.”
Tuesday’s 95-68 drubbing of the Aztecs in the First Four, earning the No. 11 Tar Heels a first-round meeting with sixth-seeded Mississippi in Milwaukee on Friday, would have been an impossibility earlier in the season. The Tar Heels showed flashes at times, but consistently struggled with defensive rotations and rebounding.
North Carolina forward Jae’Lyn Withers (24) breaks to the basket against San Diego State’s Miles Byrd (21) in the second half during the NCAA First Four on Tuesday, March 18, 2025 at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio. Robert Willett [email protected]
But with Lubin settled under the basket and Withers roaming away from it on offense and both combining to bring North Carolina closer to its traditional dominance on the glass, the Tar Heels have not only solved those issues but unlocked new levels of dominance, especially on defense. It was their fourth straight game against anyone but Duke allowing less than one point per possession, and their ninth straight win against anyone but Duke.
“It’s just really important for us to be on the same page, because we want to help this team the best way we can,” Lubin said. “Adding that extra length, extra size and athleticism in the frontcourt really helped us.”
Just as this team’s late surge is reminiscent of the Tar Heels’ 12-3 finish to the ACC season in 2022 that carried them not only into the NCAA tournament but all the way to the national-title game — that team, memorably, had no issues with Duke — it was sparked by a lineup change.
Dawson Garcia’s January departure left Brady Manek as the only option alongside Armando Bacot, and as he blossomed in the role, his outside shooting was a critical element of North Carolina’s offense, dragging defenders to the perimeter and opening space for Davis and Caleb Love.
North Carolina forward Jae’Lyn Withers (24) reacts after sinking a three-point basket in the first half against San Diego State during the NCAA First Four on Tuesday, March 18, 2025 at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio. Robert Willett [email protected]
Now Withers is in that role, setting a North Carolina ACC tournament record with seven 3-pointers against Georgia Tech, stretching defenses and creating driving lanes, while Lubin has emerged as a reliable post defender and rebounder. And as much as those two have solidified the interior defense, their presence has also allowed the offense to settle into a rhythm it lacked earlier in the season.
“Sometimes you watch a team on tape, and you’re hoping there’s some flaws, but they’re playing at a high level right now,” San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said. “I saw that if you switch ball screens, they know exactly what they’re going to do. If you hedge, they know what they’re going to do. If you’re in drop, they know what they’re going to do.”
Then there are matters more existential, in a very small way reminiscent of a different past North Carolina team, the 2017 team that embraced redemption after its previous season ended on one of the most famous shots in basketball history, Kris Jenkins’ buzzer-beater for Villanova.
For both Withers and Lubin, the way they played against San Diego State was some consolation for what happened at the end of the ACC semifinal loss to Duke, when Lubin missed a critical free throw that would have tied the score and Withers committed a lane violation to wipe out Lubin’s make on the second, an improbable combination of circumstances.
North Carolina forward Ven-Allen Lubin (22) leads the cheers on the Tar Heels bench after a three-point basket by Ian Jackson (11) in the second half against San Diego State during the NCAA First Four on Tuesday, March 18, 2025 at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio. Robert Willett [email protected]
Their weekend of agony, worrying that the narrow loss cost them a shot at the NCAA tournament, ended when the Tar Heels were the last team into the field. Then Withers had a double-double and Lubin was UNC’s third-leading scorer with 12 points in the rout.
There’s more than a little redemption in that.
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