Three keys to Wagner (17-15), the No. 16 seed in the West, upsetting No. 1 seeded North Carolina (27-7).
Take it slow
Wagner, which relies heavily on defense, plays at one of the slowest paces in the country.
The Tar Heels like to run uptempo.
Keep the turnovers to a minimum and rebounding well, which will help keep the pace slow.
Wagner has only a seven-player rotation, so it cannot get into a track meet.
Council in session
Get Melvin Council Jr. going again.
Council was the star of Wagner’s First Four win over Howard and he needs to be that player again.
He averages a team-high 14.9 points per game and he’ll need to score at least that many Thursday.
Wagner will need to get another big game from Melvin Council Jr. if it wants to upset North Carolina. Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY SportsRock DJ
Contain North Carolina’s RJ Davis, who’s the Tar Heels’ leading scorer at 21.4 points per game.
Davis shot 40.4 percent from 3-point distance. Perimeter defense on him will be paramount.
