How Sweet (16) it is: Aggies bash UNC, 86-65

With the trio of Tyler Davis, Robert Williams and Tonny Trocha-Morelos dominating the interior and freshman point guard T.J. Starks scoring a game-high 21 points, No. 7 seed Texas A&M obliterated No. 2 seed and defending national champion North Carolina 86-65 Sunday afternoon.

In what was essentially a home game for the Tar Heels (26-11) in Charlotte, N.C., the Aggies (22-11) fended off an early run that left them behind 20-15 with a 13-0 burst that put the Aggies up 28-20 and gave them a lead they would not relinquish.

After overcoming their early jitters, the Aggies established dominance in the low post as Davis (18 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks) became too much for Carolina's front line. On the other end, the normally sharp-shooting Tar Heels found their ability to get in the lane eliminated by the Aggie big men, leaving them shooting 3-pointers. They largely missed, hitting an abysmal 6 of 31 from beyond the arc and just 33% overall.

The Aggies, on the other hand, were getting pretty much whatever the wanted, pushing their lead to 42-28 at the half. After a pair of 3-pointers by Admon Gilder (12 points) and DJ Hogg (14 points) coming out of the locker room, the Aggies found themselves up 20 and the Tar Heels were in serious trouble.

From there, the Aggies' youngest starter took over. Handling the UNC press adroitly, Starks scored 12 of his 21 and dished out 4 of his 5 assists after halftime. Carolina, on the other hand, continued to struggle to hit anything, with Williams (8 points, 13 rebounds) controlling the boards before sending the UNC faithful to the exits with 5:50 left in the game with his second huge windmill dunk of the tournament.

Having ousted the Tar Heels and the Providence Friars, the Aggies head to Los Angeles and a showdown with the Michigan Wolverines (30-7), who beat Houston 64-63 on a miracle 3-pointer at the buzzer Saturday night.