Breaking:RJ Davis makes a huge Promise to Tar Heels fans in his words A Must Win

North Carolina’s RJ Davis (4) puts up a shot against Wagner’s Javier Ezquerra (1) in the second half on Thursday, March 21, 2024 during the NCAA Tournament at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. Davis led all scorers with 22 points in the Tar Heels’ 90-62 victory. ROBERT WILLETT

The 100th men’s NCAA Tournament game ever played in Charlotte tipped off Thursday afternoon, with a national TV audience, 18,223 fans and all the attendant hoopla of March Madness. And then … it was sort of boring

That, of course, suited UNC fans perfectly. The Tar Heels, one of the four No. 1 seeds in this year’s 68-team bracket, throttled an undermanned Wagner team, 90-62. In those 100 games, Charlotte has hosted all sorts of basketball spectaculars, including the 1994 men’s Final Four and No. 16 UMBC’s upset of No. 1 Virginia in 2018 — the first “16 over 1” men’s upset ever.

This was another “16 vs. 1” matchup, but it never looked to have a chance of being another UMBC. Wagner, down to only seven scholarship players and limited to scrimmaging its own coaches in practice, also had a height disadvantage of 4-6 inches at nearly every position. The Seahawks never held the lead, although they fought gamely and tied the game a few times early.

But this was a mismatch from the outset, and UNC’s RJ Davis (22 points), Armando Bacot (20 points, 15 rebounds) and Charlotte product Jae’Lyn Withers (16 points, 10 rebounds) made sure it remained that way.

We’ve got five games left,” said UNC’s Harrison Ingram, thinking positively. Five games, of course, would put UNC in the national final

UNC Tar Heels Seth Trimble and Hayden High are all pumped up for the team’s game against Wagner at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC on Thursday, March 21, 2024. The Tar Heels battled Wagner in the First Round of the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Championship at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC on Thursday, March 21, 2024. JEFF SINER

The first of those games will come Saturday against a much better opponent. Michigan State is only a No. 9 seed, but every Spartan team is big and tough and physical and this one is no exception. Michigan State and Mississippi State opened the four-game Thursday feast of NCAA Tournament basketball in Charlotte. It was supposed to be a relatively even game, but instead the Spartans dominated, 69-51