The North Carolina Tar Heels are off to a good start in the 2019 NCAA men's tournament with an 88-73 victory over the No. 16 Iona Gaels. 

North Carolina was playing its first game since a one-point loss to Duke in the ACC tournament last week. The Tar Heels were still given a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region on the strength of their regular-season resume. 

Five players scored in double figures for the Tar Heels, led by Cameron Johnson's 21-point outburst. Coby White settled for 10 points on just 4-of-14 shooting. Nassir Little was excellent with 19 off the bench. 

North Carolina didn't look anything close to its usual self in the first half. Williams' squad came out flat, shooting 32.5 percent overall (3-of-13 from three-point range). 

One reason the Tar Heels entered halftime trailing by five was Iona's duo of Rickey McGill and Asante Gist. They combined to score 23 of the team's 38 points and shot 7-of-10 from behind the arc. 

With Coby White struggling to find his stroke, seniors Luke Maye and Cameron Johnson took control of North Carolina's offense to bring the team back by scoring the team's first 11 points to start the second half. 

Little picked an opportune time to have his best scoring game since Jan. 21. The freshman star was part of the second-half surge thanks to his ability to attack the basket on plays like this:

When Little is playing up to his full potential, he can look like the best player on North Carolina's roster. He's struggled to maintain consistency from game to game, but his effort against Iona speaks well for what could be in store the rest of this tournament. 

Another reason the Tar Heels were able to make this win look easy after trailing in the first half is rebounding. They had nearly as many offensive rebounds (20) as Iona had total (26). 

The offensive glass was an area of strength for North Carolina during the regular season. It finished 18th nationally with an average of 13.1 per game. 

Williams' teams are always capable of scoring with anyone in the country, but even on an off-shooting night, the Tar Heels were able to put up 88 points because of their ability to attack the glass and create second-chance opportunities. 

If they get their shooting back on track and keep rebounding like they did Friday night, they are going to have another long tournament run this year. 

What's Next?

North Carolina will square off against No. 9 Washington on Sunday for a berth in the Sweet 16.