North Carolina is currently outside the NCAA Tournament, but head coach Hubert Davis still has a strong faith in his team to make it. The Tar Heels have one Quad 1 game remaining in the regular season, and Davis revealed the team has a different level of energy during practice.
Hubert Davis Wants North Carolina To Play With a “Sense of Emergency”
North Carolina lost 85-65 on Feb. 10. at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson. Following that loss, the Tar Heels started a winning run, with the victory over Virginia on Saturday being their third straight win. A win against the Florida State Seminoles on Tuesday will boost their chances of qualifying for the tournament.
“Our practices from that point on have been different,” Davis said postgame Saturday after North Carolina beat Virginia. “They’ve been feisty, extremely competitive, short-tempered. The competitive fight has been there. Whatever it ends up in terms of what it looks like, I feel like we’re getting better. I’m just really proud of the guys.”
Davis’ North Carolina has endured an underwhelming season, and is on the verge of missing out on the NCAA Tournament. But the Tar Heels head coach is not giving up and wants his players to take the same mentality to their remaining games in the regular season.
Following their 67-66 win over Pittsburgh on Feb. 8, Davis said the players should carry the same momentum to their next games, having already lost four of their last five.
“I think you should play like that every day – every possession, whether it’s shootaround, practice, game. That’s what we talked (about),” Davis said. “We always talk about it as a team. It’s not a sense of urgency but it’s a sense of emergency to make plays on both ends of the floor, whether it’s at the beginning in a game or at the end.”
There is still a lot to do for North Carolina, especially after the disappointing 20-point loss to Clemson in the following game. However, the Tar Heels bounced back with three straight wins, with the most recent being against Virginia.
Despite the up-and-down season, Davis remains proud of the team and is hopeful that they will turn things around.
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“We have time, and we have the opportunity to move forward to be able to do that, and we’re very thankful for that last one,” Davis said after UNC loss to Duke on Feb. 3. “I love this team here. I love coaching this group, and I believe in this team. I think we can be really good.”
Meanwhile, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi listed North Carolina as one of the first four out for March Madness, along with UCF, Xavier and Arizona State.
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