Updated at 3:25 p.m. CST March 19

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For the ISU men’s basketball team, its prize for winning its first NCAA tournament game since 2000 is a second-round matchup Sunday with top-seeded North Carolina at 1:30 p.m.

“We’re looking forward to the challenge of playing North Carolina,” ISU coach Wayne Morgan said. “I’m hopeful [Friday’s] game took the butterflies out of us. I’m hoping our guys are ready to play.”

The No. 9-seeded Cyclones (19-11) defeated Minnesota 64-53 on Friday at Charlotte Coliseum. The 11-point victory was the third-largest win ever in the NCAA tournament for Iowa State.

But this matchup with the Tar Heels (28-4), who, four of the last five times they were seeded No. 1, have advanced to the Final Four, is a great consolation after a bleak beginning to Iowa State’s Big 12 Conference season when it started 0-5.

Curtis Stinson said he isn’t concerned with being the underdog.

“We’ve been an underdog most of the year, especially after starting 0-5 in the conference,” Stinson said. “We always had our backs against the wall. It helped us out a lot.”

Being the underdog takes pressure off the players, said senior Jared Homan.

“Most people expect North Carolina to win, so that puts us in a great position to come from behind as a sleeper,” Homan said. “We have everything to gain from this game.”

That underdog factor is certainly on the mind of Carolina, especially after first-round losses by Syracuse and Kansas on Friday.

“It just shows that the number beside the name doesn’t mean much anymore,” said Carolina’s Rashad McCants. “You can’t overlook anyone.”

McCants said they can’t let Iowa State stick with them very long.

“You want to put your foot on their throat as soon as possible,” McCants said. “We can’t give them life to come in and do what they want to do.”

Homan will again face coach Roy Williams, who was at Kansas his freshman and sophomore years.

“What he does at North Carolina is very similar to what he did at Kansas,” Homan said.

Williams said that Homan has also changed in the time since he has last seen him.

“He’s much more effective offensively,” Williams said. “He gives them really big-time play in the middle. He’s made a drastic improvement.

“It shows what a kid can do when he works hard.”

North Carolina defeated Oakland (Mich.) 96-68 in its tournament opener. The Tar Heels hit 14 of their first 16 shots and led 18-5 by the first media timeout. They also went 12-of-19 from behind the 3-point line.

Freshman Marvin Williams ended the game with 20 points to lead the Tar Heels. Sean May finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, and McCants ended with 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting from behind the arc.

Carolina has a deep bench, but that isn’t something that comes new to the Cyclones. The Tar Heels have eight players averaging more than 17 minutes per game, and May plays the most at 26.1 minutes per contest.

“Most teams we have played have had more depth than us,” Homan said. “It’s something we’ve become accustomed to.”

Stinson led the offense against Minnesota, scoring 18 points and also pulling down six rebounds. Homan ended with 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocked shots.

Iowa State also forced 17 Golden Gopher turnovers and recorded 12 steals.

“Ours is like an attack defense,” Stinson said. “We bump, we rotate. We’re aggressive on it.”

Besides having to deal with Carolina’s depth, fast-paced tempo and outside game, Iowa State will also have a bit of a disadvantage in terms of fan support.

Tasheed Carr said it is definitely a home-court advantage for the Tar Heels.

“But there’s going to be a lot of Duke fans cheering for us,” Carr added.

Homan said it doesn’t matter where the Cyclones play.

“We’ve gone into tough environments all year long, going into Kansas and winning, going into Texas and winning,” Homan said. “They’ll have more fans here than us, but that doesn’t matter; it’s still a basketball game.”