CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte was a sea of Carolina blue on Thursday as the UNC basketball team played Wagner College in the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

What You Need To Know

  •  UNC played Wagner Thursday in the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament

  •  Tar Heels fans filled the Spectrum Center Thursday to root on their team

  •  The Heels will play Michigan State in the second round on Saturday

North Carolina defeated Wagner 90-62 to advance to the round of 32.

Even before the tipoff, Tar Heels fans traveled from near and far to support their team. 

Lorraine Johnson traveled from the Atlanta area for the game. She and others gathered outside of the hotel where the Tar Heels stayed to give them a proper send off to the Spectrum Center.

“I’m very excited. I’m a huge Tar Heel fan. I grew up in North Carolina. I’m from the High Point area,” Johnson said. 

Johnson said now that she's retired she couldn’t miss the opportunity to travel to Charlotte to support the players. 

“Even when I was working as a teacher and a principal, we went to every tournament on break we could go to,” Johnson said. 

Shannon Bridges and her mother Jean Rome drove from Lincolnton for the game as well. 

"I graduated from Carolina so close by, always love watching Carolina basketball and come anytime we can get tickets and get here,” Bridges said. 

North Carolina is the No. 1 seed in the region, a spot this team has earned 18 times, the most in NCAA history. 

“I feel they deserve it because it shows their body of work of the year, even if they fell short in the ACC tournament title,” Johnson said. 

Johnson is glad she was able to cheer on them. 

“I think it’s great for them to have community support, and we’ve heard them say, 'it’s great to look at the stands and see that Carolina blue.’”

With Thursday’s victory, UNC made it to the round of 32 and will now face Michigan State Saturday. 

According to UNC, this is the Tar Heels' 53rd NCAA tournament appearance. In addition, the last time the Tar Heels won a national title was in 2017 and they were also a No. 1 seed then.