Should the Heels have been in the tournament? Probably not, but, man, they looked good against San Diego State banging down 14 3-pointers. Ole Miss was only 8-10 in Quad 1 games, and the Rebels don't pass my eyeball test.

I had UNC to the Sweet 16 from the First Four, as while you can definitely make a case that the Heels shouldn't have gotten into the Dance, they still have a Top 10 roster in the country in terms of talent/upside. And that was on display Tuesday in trashing San Diego State. Not only that, the committee -- chaired by UNC AD Bubba Cunningham -- didn't make Carolina turn around and play Thursday like it should have considering it was in a Tuesday First Four game. It just all seems to be setting up nicely for Hubert Davis' bunch. And a First Four team has won a R64 game every year but one.

Not only will North Carolina bring in the confidence and rhythm from winning big against San Diego State, but the Tar Heels have drawn a matchup that could actually work in their favor. Ole Miss’ defense rates in the top-30 nationally thanks to a rotation filled with experience and a coach in Chris Beard who can put his team in the best position to be disruptive and get stops. However, this is not a particularly big team and not a great rebounding team, both of which are qualities that could present real problems for North Carolina. The Tar Heels are riding a 9-1 mark against the spread in their last 10 games, and their ability to make plays on the perimeter will be the difference.

This might be one of the trappiest games of the first round, but North Carolina will be out to prove something. The Tar Heels have momentum coming into this one and have covered nine of their last 10, while Ole Miss has failed to cover eight of its last 10. The Rebels will have the rest advantage which could affect how they start the game. Ole Miss ended the season with a -7 point differential in their last three games as their offense has been up-and-down down the stretch. The Tar Heels just dominated the 15th best defense in the country and will look to do the same against the 23rd ranked defense behind RJ Davis.