Ole Miss basketball makes a meal of NCAA Tournament first round opponents North Carolina

Ole Miss basketball made it into the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013. However, they were made to work for it, mainly due to themselves self-sabotaging the game.

The Rebels came into the game on a high and with ammunition. They were called out for being a 'fraud,' but they clearly showed they were anything but that in the first half. They were facing North Carolina, a team lucky to be at this point. They handled their play-in against San Diego State and looked to continue with the momentum.

In the game's first four minutes, Ole Miss made sure it was them with the momentum, racing to a 14-4 lead. The Tar Heels pulled it back, but this was a first-half domination from the Rebels, going into the locker room up by 18.

Dre Davis had 13 first-half points, which included three 3-pointers. Davis did not miss a shot in the first half. Jaylen Murray and Sean Pedulla was in fine form, orchestrating everything.

In the second half, Ole Miss found themselves 22 points up early. Even after five minutes, they were 19 points in front and total control of the game. However, they began to self-implode.

Heading into the final nine minutes, Chris Beard's side failed to score a point for nearly six minutes, allowing the Tar Heels to claw their way back into the game. They moved within four points. The game had a big moment just before Pedulla made it six-point.

North Carolina missed three lay-ups; Seth Trimble, who had a fantastic second half, missed two, and RJ Davis. They brought it back to two points, but the Rebels found some composure to book their place in the second round.

Chris Beard will be relieved, but with Iowa State up next, he will have limited time to work on the errors during the second-half collapse.