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Hubert Davis dismisses motives behind North Carolina improvement

FaceProfileby:Thomas Goldkamp•about 20 hours
Hubert Davis
© Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Perhaps on the brink of elimination from the NCAA Tournament picture just a few weeks ago, North Carolina has clawed its way back and won five straight games, putting itself into position to potentially earn that coveted postseason berth.

There’s work to be done still, of course, but things are now trending in the right direction.

“I’ve seen that increased edge, but I don’t think it has anything to do about other than us trying to become the best team that we can possibly become,” coach Hubert Davis said, asked if his team is playing like every game is a must-win scenario. “I don’t think it’s anything outside of that.”

But the reality is this: North Carolina had lost five of its last seven before a road trip to Syracuse. The team was reeling.

And many had penciled North Carolina out of the NCAA Tournament field. Things are much less certain on that front now.

For Davis, though, it’s not necessarily a motivating factor for his team. They want to make the Big Dance, no doubt, but improvement has not come as a result of that carrot dangling in front of players.

“The reason I say that is I haven’t talked to them about anything,” Davis said. “It’s about our improvement. The only thing we have control over is how we prepare, how we practice, how we play. If we do that to the best of our ability everything else will take care of itself. So it may be, but I have not communicated that to them at all. Our focus has been on us, and if we take care of us, everything else will take care of itself.”

So far, so good on that front. North Carolina has ripped off five straight wins heading into the final two games of the season.

Up next is a road trip to Virginia Tech — a tough but winnable game. Then there’s the opportunity to perhaps move to the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble, with a game against No. 2 Duke at home looming as the regular-season finale.

At this point, North Carolina has played its way into a more tenable position. Now it’s just a matter of following through.