Hubert Davis calls out North Carolina players for lack of desperation vs. Clemson: 'Just sad'

It’s been a challenging season for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Things only got worse on Monday night for head coach Hubert Davis, dropping a road test against the Clemson Tigers by 20 points to lose their third game in four outings.

After the game, Davis was critical of his team. In particular, he called the Tar Heels’ lack of desperation in the game against Clemson sad.

“One of the things that we talked about in the game is,” Hubert Davis said. “And I think it was a question after the game on Saturday, in regards to a sense of urgency, and I said, ‘No, it’s a sense of emergency.’ And that’s the type of mindset that you have to have in your preparation, practice and play every day, and it doesn’t guarantee you that things will work out your way but without it, you have no chance. So, from that standpoint, just sad.”

Hubert Davis is referencing comments he made following North Carolina’s win over Pitt on Saturday. At that point, he had praised how his team played in that game, particularly for their sense of emergency. However, they didn’t seem to be able to carry it over.

“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.”

Clemson and North Carolina were close early in the first half. However, that’s when the Tigers pulled away with a 28-10 run that was fueled by some excellent three-point shooting. Clemson would finish the game with 12 made three-point shots on 25 attempts, compared to just four for 19 shooting from the Tar Heels beyond the arc. By halftime, the score was 49-33 and North Carolina wasn’t able to claw back.

Of note for North Carolina, the Tigers outrebounded, shot for a higher percentage from the floor, had more assists, and were called for fewer fouls in the game.

With the loss, Davis has seen his team fall out of contention completely in the ACC. The Tar Heels are now 14-11 overall this season and 7-6 in the ACC. That puts them at eighth in the current conference standings. That’s five games behind rival Duke at the top of the conference.

Next up, Hubert Davis will look to get North Carolina back on track against Syracuse. That road test will be played on February 15th.