CHARLOTTE — North Carolina continues to torment Michigan State and Spartans Coach Tom Izzo in the NCAA tournament. This time, the top-seeded Tar Heels relied on their balance to pull away in the second half for an 85-69 win over the No. 9 seed Saturday in the West Region’s second round at Spectrum Center.

Guard RJ Davis, the ACC player of the year, had a team-high 20 points, and forward Armando Bacot added 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists to help North Carolina (29-7) reach the region semifinals in Los Angeles. The loss dropped Izzo’s record against North Carolina in the NCAA tournament to 0-5.

The Tar Heels had four players score in double figures, including 17 by forward Harrison Ingram (5 for 7 on three-pointers), and went 10 for 26 from behind the arc to advance to the Sweet 16 for the sixth time since 2015. Cormac Ryan added 14 points and was part of a pesky defense that forced 11 turnovers leading to 16 points.

“Michigan State is always Michigan State — extremely well coached. I can’t have any more respect for a coach than I have for Coach Izzo, his program, the way he runs his program, the type of teams, the way that they play, so we knew what we were getting today,” UNC Coach Hubert Davis said. “… We’ve been in tough, physical matchups, highly competitive competitions like today. It just continues to build confidence for us.”

Tyson Walker led the Spartans (20-15) with a game-high 24 points, and Malik Hall had 17 points and nine rebounds, but Michigan State was unable to mount a serious comeback after the Tar Heels scored seven straight points to grow their lead to 69-57 with 6:19 remaining on Ingram’s three-pointer that rattled around the rim and fell through.

North Carolina almost settled the outcome early in the second half by opening a 12-point lead, but the Spartans reeled off 15 of the next 20 points to draw within 48-46. Jaden Akins made consecutive three-pointers and capped the surge with a three-point play.

A highly entertaining first half concluded with North Carolina storming back to lead 40-31 on the strength of a 17-0 flurry featuring eight points from Bacot. It was the 20th time this season the Tar Heels have produced a run of at least 10-0. The Spartans had permitted only four such runs coming into the game, the second fewest in the country.

“We just didn’t come up with big plays, and they did at key times,” Izzo said. “I’m proud of the fact that we could have given up [but didn’t]. These guys have been through a lot, but we got beat by a really good team in a tough environment. … I’m not going to hang my head.”

The matchup became one of the most compelling in the NCAA tournament once the teams advanced Thursday. Michigan State beat eighth-seeded Mississippi State behind stifling defense. The Tar Heels pulled away from 16th-seeded Wagner.

The programs’ credentials are extensive. Under Izzo, the Spartans have reached the NCAA tournament 26 consecutive times, the longest streak in history. They have been to the Final Four eight times and won the national championship in 2000. Izzo’s NCAA tournament winning percentage (70 percent) is the third highest among active coaches.

The Tar Heels are on the shortlist of the bluest of blue bloods, with seven national championships and 21 Final Four appearances. Most recently they reached the national title game in 2022 in their first season under Davis, who took over for Hall of Famer Roy Williams.

Adding to the intrigue is a familial connection. Spartans assistant coach Doug Wojcik’s son, Paxson, is a graduate transfer guard for North Carolina, where the father was an assistant from 2000 to 2003. The two shared an embrace shortly before tip-off, when energy in the arena was building — primarily among the Tar Heels fans in Carolina blue who filled most of the seats and provided an atmosphere reminiscent of Dean E. Smith Center. Yet Michigan State came out with elevated aggression on the way to an early double-digit lead.

The margin swelled to 26-14 with 9:37 to play in the first half after North Carolina had rallied to get within four on forward Jalen Washington’s jumper. From there the Spartans got a difficult jumper from Jaxon Kohler and back-to-back three-pointers by Walker, the last of those in transition.

“What really changed for us defensively was Paxson coming in,” Bacot said. “I thought he really made a huge impact on us, and he really got us going. For him to come in like that and step up when his number’s called speaks volumes.”