It's on to the second game of the NCAA Tournament for the UNC basketball program, a first-round meeting with Chris Beard and the Ole Miss Rebels.
Considering the slapping of San Diego State was a play-in game, here's where the fun begins. North Carolina will look to keep its season alive while silencing the haters some more in the process.
Here's what you need to know about the Ole Miss Rebels.
Ole Miss Rebels
Overall record: 21-11
Conference Record: 10-8
Home Record: 13-3
Away Record: 5-6
Neutral Site Record: 4-2
Key Victories (Rankings representing the opponent's ranking at the time):
No. 24 Illinois, Georgia, Arkansas, No. 4 Alabama, No. 14 Kentucky, No. 4 Tennessee
Meet the Team
Head Coach
Chris Beard (second season) - Career Record: 213-96
Previous Head Coaching Stops
Little Rock (2015-2016)
Texas Tech (2016-2021)
Texas (2021-2023)
Key Players
Sean Pedulla is a player who UNC basketball fans are very familiar with.
The 6-foot-1 guard spent his first three college seasons playing at Virginia Tech, as he was a two-year starter for the Hokies before transferring to Ole Miss. Although he'll be in a different uniform than we're used to seeing him in, this is still the same player the Tar Heels know very well: a consistent guard who has a knack for putting the ball in the basket.
In fact, you can argue that this has been Pedulla's best season in terms of offensive efficiency. Although his scoring production took a hit from a season ago, he's still a player who averages just under 15 points per-game while shooting the basketball at a high clip (43.4% from the floor, 38.8% from three-point range).
Tar Heel fans should also remember the name Jaemyn Brakefield, a forward who began his college career playing for Duke.
Brakefield departed Durham after one season to head to Ole Miss, a place where he became a full-time starter over his first three seasons in Oxford. However, this season, the Jackson, Mississippi native transitioned to a bench role, providing strong minutes as a reserve.
Even though he hasn't been included in Chris Beard's starting unit this season, Brakefield is still one of the most impactful players on the roster. He comes in to this game averaging 10.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per-game.
Another veteran presence on this Rebels roster, Matthew Murrell is a fifth-year senior who aims to help guide his squad to a long NCAA Tournament run.
Murrell, a 6-foot-4 guard from Memphis, Tennessee, has spent his entire five-year career at Ole Miss, essentially being a key clog in the starting rotation for the final four years of his soon-to-close tenure. His offensive numbers have taken quite the dip, as he went from averaging 16.2 points per game a season ago to just 10.6 points per contest this season, but he still remains an important factor for the Rebels.
One of his biggest inconsistencies come from beyond the three-point line. His three-point field goal percentage has dropped a staggering 9.2% from a season ago, as he has had trouble maintaining consistency from beyond-the-arc during his entire collegiate career.
Projected Starters
No. 0 Malik Dia
No. 3 Sean Pedulla
No. 11 Matthew Murrell
No. 13 Dre Davis
No. 5 Jaylen Murray