March Madness: Duke, NC State, UNC head to Sweet 16 of NCAA Men’s Tournament

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — This week marks the start of the NCAA Men’s Tournament Sweet 16.

UNC, NC State and Duke have all advanced to the next round. Here’s what’s in store:

UNC

No. 1 North Carolina is moving on in the NCAA Tournament at the expense of No. 9 Michigan State and Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo.

With 20 points, guard RJ Davis helped UNC defeat the Spartans 85-69 on Saturday, advancing them to the Sweet 16. Forward Harrison Ingram made five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points.

The Tar Heels remain undefeated in March Madness against Izzo’s teams in a series going back 26 years.

No. 1 North Carolina will face No. 4 Alabama at 9:39 p.m. on CBS.

NC State

Two weeks ago, No. 14 North Carolina State was on the outside of the tournament bubble.

Seven wins in 12 days later-including five in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament to earn an automatic NCAA berth-the Wolfpack is headed to the Sweet 16 after their win against No. 14 Oakland 29-73 on Saturday.

Forward DJ Burns Jr. with the under-the-rim game scored 24 points, including a go-ahead putback that ignited a 9-0 run in overtime. This is the first time the team has advanced to the Sweet 16 since 2015.

No. 11 NC State will face No. 2 Marquette on Friday at 7:09 p.m. on CBS.

Duke

McCain and Duke emphatically ended the nation’s longest active winning streak at 14 games, taking a 22-point lead into halftime and never letting the advantage slip below 20 in the second half.

The Dukes (32-4) finished with a program record for victories.

Duke reached the second weekend of March Madness for the 27th time in 39 tournaments since the event expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

No. 4 Blue Devils will face No. 1 Houston in the South Region semifinals on Friday at 9:39 p.m. on CBS.

Associated Press contributed.