North Carolina’s Hubert Davis reveals fighting message that sparked huge comeback vs. Virginia

The no. 22 North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the no.14 Virginia Cavaliers 85-80 on Saturday, and head coach Hubert Davis was blunt when speaking about how his group was able to rally back after a poor start to the contest.

“I don’t think the energy was gone in the first half. I think Virginia’s physicality overwhelmed us in the first half. And I told them, I said, the only route is you raise both of those fists and you start swinging. You’ve got to compete,” Davis told reporters after the game.

“They’re not going anywhere. If you wanna win this game, it’s gonna be won in the trenches, making tough plays on both ends of the floor. And I felt like in the second half, we did that.”

Virginia led by as many as 16 points, but North Carolina outscored them 51-37 in the second half. Freshman forward Caleb Wilson generated 20 points, four rebounds, and two assists, while Junior forward Jarin Stevenson contributed 17 points and one rebound off the bench.

According to Davis, Wilson, and Stevenson’s play in transition was a critical component of what helped the Tar Heels pull off the upset.

“100 percent. I mean, that’s what we’ve focused on all year. I always said since before the season started, I want to be the fastest team in the country from free throw line to free throw line, and the way that we transition from defense to offense has to be real. In order to do that, you have to rebound. We rebounded better in the second half,” Davis said.

“You talked about Jarin and Caleb, their ability to sprint down the middle of the floor, they did exactly what was told of them. They did their job and requirement, and we got some pitch ahead to some easy baskets that got us back in the game.”

North Carolina is now 4-3 in ACC play. They will take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Saturday.

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