This NCAA Tournament has been full of tourney excitement: upsets, game winners, and more energizing plays. Two #3 seeds have already been taken down. This UNC-Harvard game on Thursday night looked to be another surprising upset.

There were 48 seconds left. After leading the whole game, North Carolina tied the game up at 65-65 on a Justin Jackson jump shot. 

How did this collapse happen after an 11-point halftime lead and a largest lead of 18? Wesley Saunders of the Harvard Crimson led his team to a second-half comeback that seemingly occurred against a different UNC team. 

Harvard began to become comfortable and play well as a team, while the 'Heels started to tense up and therefore turned the ball over and missed lots of open shots. 

Back up for a second. Harvard, not known for their basketball program, has won the Ivy League for the past three seasons, and for the past two seasons, has upset their first-round opponent in the tournament. They have yet to make it into the Sweet 16 yet, but have started to develop a strong and stable group of Ivy League kids who can compete with the best college basketball teams in the country.

UNC has quite the opposite story to Harvard's. While they have also lost in the Round of 32 for the past two seasons, they are the epitome of a basketball school. They are not known for their high-quality academics, but rather their rich and prestigious basketball history. NBA legends such as Michael Jordan have attended UNC. The Heels won a national championship last in 2009, but Roy Williams's squad for the past few seasons has been subpar for the North Carolina basketball program standards. With a #4 seed in this tourney, the Tar Heels hoped to break out of their funk. 

One team had to break their streak of making it to the Round of 32, and it was unclear who that was going to be with 48 seconds left. Harvard looked ready to upset yet another first-round opponent, however UNC appeared infuriated and energized by the fact that they had given up their lead. 

The Crimson approached this late-game situation with the strategy they had used all game - shoot threes. Siyani Chambers missed a pair of triples, and the Crimson failed to score.

One major difference between how Harvard and North Carolina played was that the Tar Heels tried to look for the highest-percentage shot possible on each possession, and while they strayed from this for most of the second half, they stayed true to fundamental basketball to close out the game that they believed was rightfully theirs. With 23 seconds to go, Marcus Paige assisted Justin Jackson on a go-ahead dunk that would prove to be the game-winner. Jackson was the statistic and clutch leader for North Carolina in this game, but no one player really shined, as the players performed as a unit.

Jackson finished with 14 points. Marcus Paige recorded 12 and 6 assists for the 'Heels, and Kennedy Meeks scored 10 and grabbed 8 boards as well. North Carolina shot an incredible 55% from the field on the game, one clear advantage they had (Harvard shot 38%). 

Harvard played one-dimensional basketball, and while they almost mounted an astounding comeback, their reliance on threes and Wesley Saunders in particular was not the right way to attack UNC and come out with a win. Saunders had a monster game with 26 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. Siyani Chambers added 13 points.

The North Carolina Tar Heels will face the winner of the Wofford-Arkansas matchup in the Round of 32. Expect a close contest.

Harvard must go home, and evaluate their performance and learn from it. Wesley Saunders will graduate in a couple of months, and without him, the Crimson may not make it back to the national tourney. Maybe soon-to-be senior Siyani Chambers can become a strong leader and drive Harvard to another strong Ivy League campaign.

This tournament has by far been the most exciting in years. Sit down on your couch, relax, and enjoy some classic March Madness basketball.