4 wild things from the UNC-Baylor OT thriller

No. 8 North Carolina's dramatic 93-86 overtime victory over top-seeded Baylor provided some of the craziest moments in recent NCAA Tournament history.

From a 25-point lead to a questionable ejection resulting in Baylor's furious comeback and eventual demise, this contest had fans on the edge of their seats down the stretch.

Here are the four wildest things from the legendary thriller on Saturday afternoon.

Brady Manek's ejection

Before Brady Manek was ejected midway through the second half, the only notable storyline was North Carolina's demolition of No. 1 seed Baylor. The grad transfer's last 3-pointer gave him 26 points on the afternoon and pushed his team's lead to 67-42.

When Manek swung his elbow at Baylor forward Jeremy Sochan's face and got hit with a flagrant-2 foul, there were more questions surrounding a possible suspension than any impact it would have in the game.

Instead, it became the turning point that changed a surprising blowout into a dramatic turnaround.

Baylor's 25-point comeback

Immediately after Manek was tossed, Baylor bounced back with an 11-0 run to cut its deficit to just 14. The Bears amped up the defensive pressure, forcing North Carolina into 10 turnovers over the last 10 minutes of regulation while slowly pushing the lead to single digits.

After an and-1 basket from Tar Heels big man Armando Bacot gave his team a 79-73 lead with just over one minute remaining, it seemed like Baylor's comeback bid was done. However, three missed free throws and a turnover allowed Bears guard James Akinjo to tie the contest with 15.8 seconds remaining.

Although North Carolina's eventual win will grab the biggest headlines, Baylor's valiant comeback effort was a pleasure to watch.

Almost as many fouls as field goals

Free-throw shooting became such a big factor down the stretch due to the 53 total fouls called in the contest - there were just 56 field goals. With 27 personal fouls called on Baylor and 26 handed to North Carolina, it was the first time all season that a power conference game featured as many whistles on both sides.

As a result, the teams shot 64 free throws, four players received foul limit disqualifications, and every player who played more than 10 minutes picked up at least three fouls. With so many whistles, it forced each squad to trot out rarely used lineups in the game's most important moments.

RJ Davis' heroics

Guard RJ Davis became North Carolina's hero down the stretch. Davis dropped a career-high 30 points, including a game-sealing and-1 layup in overtime.

In the three games prior to Saturday's performance, Davis was just 7-of-33 from the field and 2-of-15 from beyond the arc. However, he made five long balls in the victory, adding six assists and five rebounds.

With Manek and Caleb Love relegated to the bench, and Bacot struggling to score, Davis' shot-making saved the Tar Heels' season. And if he can continue his strong play moving forward, North Carolina has the potential to make a deep March Madness run.