Brice Johnson scored 18 points and No. 1-seeded North Carolina needed an overwhelming second-half start to put away 16th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast in Raleigh, N.C.
Isaiah Hicks added 12 points off the bench for the Tar Heels (29-6), who led by just a point after a frustration-filled opening 20 minutes in which the Eagles stayed right with the East Region’s top seed. But U.N.C. dominated the opening 10 minutes of the second half, running off a 20-3 burst by controlling the boards and locking down defensively to build a 20-point lead.
That helped the Tar Heels avoid the unwanted history of being the first No.