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The first UNC-Duke basketball matchup this year was a blowout. Saturday, March 8 in Chapel Hill wasn't much better.
It appeared the ACC Tournament Semifinal matchup on Friday, March 14 was heading towards a blowout, but North Carolina came roaring back in the second half. The Tar Heels dug themselves too deep a hole, though, losing 74-71 in a game that could very well decide their NCAA Tournament fate.
UNC (22-13, 13-7) had every excuse to win Friday's game, facing a Blue Devils (30-3, 19-1) squad without superstar Cooper Flagg and top defender Maliq Brown. Instead, North Carolina trailed by 21 points at halftime and endured perimeter shooting woes that plagued it all season long.
Also as the Tar Heels did all season long, they showed plenty of fight and overcame a massive second-half deficit. UNC actually had a chance to take the lead with under five seconds to go, as starting center Ven-Allen Lubin went to the line for a pair of free throws.
Lubin missed the front end, then Jae'Lyn Withers got called for a lane violation I haven't seen in ages. I watch so many games where that same play isn't called – and it's tough Friday's game had to end on one.
You can go ahead and blame North Carolina's loss on Withers' timely mistake, but Withers is one of the main reasons the Tar Heels were playing Friday in the first place. UNC lost because of digging itself in a 20-plus point hole during the first half.
North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis had quite a few things to say in his postgame press conference, while star guard RJ Davis joined him for a couple questions.
"I can’t be more proud of a team than I am right now. Just love these guys to death. I love their fight, I love their togetherness, I love how close they are. I told them after the game, I didn’t think I could be more proud of a group than I am right now. But I am more proud. I thank Jesus every day that I get to be their head coach.”
"He helped us a lot. Not just in scoring, his defense his rebounding, keeping the ball alive, running the floor. He’s been consistently at a high level for a while and giving us that inside presence, alongside our ability to score from the outside has helped us out offensively. Again, Ven’s activity, Duke even without Maliq and Cooper, they still have tremendous length. And so for Ven to be able to do what he did against a long and athletic team, was exactly what we needed to be able to get back into the game.”
“We’re going to go back home. The most thing I’ve been proud of this group, is and they’re good questions in regards to the NCAA Tournament. Those are questions that have been asked over a month. And for our guys to stay focused on what is real and that was, being the best team we could become, continue to prepare, practice and play, whomever we’re playing, keep our eyes focused straight ahead on the competition right in front of us and be thebest that we can be. For a month and a half, we basically played must-win games. In that situation, our team played the best. That’s pretty cool from a bunch of kids.”
“I think we’ve shown these past couple of weeks that we are a tournament team. We’re a special team. If you look at the trajectory of our whole season, the way we dealt with diversity and perseverance, especially these last couple of weeks, we overcame all of that. You couldn’t ask for a better team than that, which goes through that type of adversity, goes through that type of criticism and still perseveres through it all and comes out on top. I think that’s a tournament team right there for you. Cause that’s what March is all about.”
“I think anytime you put on this jersey and you’re going against Duke, it’s an opportunity to be part of history. I’ve been fortunate and grateful enough to play in a lot of games, that I’ll cherish and remember for the rest of my life. I just think with this team and this year's group of guys, to be down 20 the first half and then fight our way back, all the way down to a minute and a half, I don’t think a rivalry gets better than that. It was a gritty game and I’m just proud of the way we, not just against Duke but this whole tournament and all year, we consistently battle and compete at an all-time level.”
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: What Hubert, RJ Davis said after UNC basketball's ACCT loss to Duke
Continue reading...
It appeared the ACC Tournament Semifinal matchup on Friday, March 14 was heading towards a blowout, but North Carolina came roaring back in the second half. The Tar Heels dug themselves too deep a hole, though, losing 74-71 in a game that could very well decide their NCAA Tournament fate.
UNC (22-13, 13-7) had every excuse to win Friday's game, facing a Blue Devils (30-3, 19-1) squad without superstar Cooper Flagg and top defender Maliq Brown. Instead, North Carolina trailed by 21 points at halftime and endured perimeter shooting woes that plagued it all season long.
Also as the Tar Heels did all season long, they showed plenty of fight and overcame a massive second-half deficit. UNC actually had a chance to take the lead with under five seconds to go, as starting center Ven-Allen Lubin went to the line for a pair of free throws.
Lubin missed the front end, then Jae'Lyn Withers got called for a lane violation I haven't seen in ages. I watch so many games where that same play isn't called – and it's tough Friday's game had to end on one.
You can go ahead and blame North Carolina's loss on Withers' timely mistake, but Withers is one of the main reasons the Tar Heels were playing Friday in the first place. UNC lost because of digging itself in a 20-plus point hole during the first half.
North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis had quite a few things to say in his postgame press conference, while star guard RJ Davis joined him for a couple questions.
Hubert on his feelings about the 2024-2025 Tar Heels
"I can’t be more proud of a team than I am right now. Just love these guys to death. I love their fight, I love their togetherness, I love how close they are. I told them after the game, I didn’t think I could be more proud of a group than I am right now. But I am more proud. I thank Jesus every day that I get to be their head coach.”
Hubert on Ven-Allen Lubin's continued impact and tonight's double-double
"He helped us a lot. Not just in scoring, his defense his rebounding, keeping the ball alive, running the floor. He’s been consistently at a high level for a while and giving us that inside presence, alongside our ability to score from the outside has helped us out offensively. Again, Ven’s activity, Duke even without Maliq and Cooper, they still have tremendous length. And so for Ven to be able to do what he did against a long and athletic team, was exactly what we needed to be able to get back into the game.”
Hubert on whether UNC deserves an NCAA Tournament spot
“We’re going to go back home. The most thing I’ve been proud of this group, is and they’re good questions in regards to the NCAA Tournament. Those are questions that have been asked over a month. And for our guys to stay focused on what is real and that was, being the best team we could become, continue to prepare, practice and play, whomever we’re playing, keep our eyes focused straight ahead on the competition right in front of us and be thebest that we can be. For a month and a half, we basically played must-win games. In that situation, our team played the best. That’s pretty cool from a bunch of kids.”
RJ on whether UNC deserves an NCAA Tournament spot
“I think we’ve shown these past couple of weeks that we are a tournament team. We’re a special team. If you look at the trajectory of our whole season, the way we dealt with diversity and perseverance, especially these last couple of weeks, we overcame all of that. You couldn’t ask for a better team than that, which goes through that type of adversity, goes through that type of criticism and still perseveres through it all and comes out on top. I think that’s a tournament team right there for you. Cause that’s what March is all about.”
RJ on the UNC-Duke rivalry
“I think anytime you put on this jersey and you’re going against Duke, it’s an opportunity to be part of history. I’ve been fortunate and grateful enough to play in a lot of games, that I’ll cherish and remember for the rest of my life. I just think with this team and this year's group of guys, to be down 20 the first half and then fight our way back, all the way down to a minute and a half, I don’t think a rivalry gets better than that. It was a gritty game and I’m just proud of the way we, not just against Duke but this whole tournament and all year, we consistently battle and compete at an all-time level.”
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: What Hubert, RJ Davis said after UNC basketball's ACCT loss to Duke
Continue reading...
