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CHARLOTTE (goheels.com)  — T.J. Starks scored 21 points and Texas A&M overpowered North Carolina inside, upsetting the reigning national champions 86-65 Sunday in the NCAA Tournament to mark the second straight year a title holder missed the Sweet 16.

The seventh-seeded Aggies (22-12) did everything they had to do to hand the Tar Heels a rare loss in a home-state NCAA game.

They dominated the glass. They used their size to control the paint and block shots. And they pounced when UNC's small-ball lineup couldn't make an outside shot.
Robert Williams finished with 13 rebounds, helping the Aggies take a 50-36 edge while shooting 52 percent — including 10 of 24 from 3-point range.

Joel Berry II scored 21 points in his final game for the second-seeded Tar Heels (26-11), who were trying to reach their third straight Final Four. But they ended up falling to 34-2 in NCAA games in their home state, the only other loss coming in 1979.

BIG PICTURE

UNC: Everything was set up for the Tar Heels to continue their ascent, from entering with 10 wins in 13 games to playing in their home-state where they had been practically unbeatable in NCAA games. Instead, they couldn't buy a 3-point shot (6 for 31), struggled to rebound against a bigger team and offered little more than a meager resistance as the Aggies played with aggressive confidence.

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The Aggies advanced to the regional semifinals in Los Angeles to face third-seeded Michigan, which beat Houston on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer Saturday.