NCAA: No. 5 Auburn knocks off No. 1 North Carolina

No. 5 Auburn, the lowest seed remaining in the NCAA Tournament, knocked off No. 1 North Carolina 97-80 in the Sweet 16 Friday night.

Chuma Okeke led Auburn with 20 points and Cameron Johnson led North Carolina with 15 points.

The Tigers (29-9) will next take on the winners of Friday night’s other Midwest Regional semifinal between No. 2 Kentucky and No. 3 Houston in the Elite Eight on Sunday.

The winner of that Elite Eight matchup will punch their ticket to the Final Four starting April 6 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Auburn rode an eight-game winning streak late in the season that included the school’s first SEC tournament championship since 1985.

Once arriving at the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers survived an upset bid by No. 12 New Mexico State in the first round and then beat No. 4 Kansas 89-75 to reach the Sweet 16.

Their 11-game winning streak is the longest among teams still alive in the tournament.

Auburn, which has now played in the Sweet 16 five times in program history, has reached the Elite Eight only one other time, falling to Louisville 84-76 in 1986.