Hubert Davis: Fight has never been a concern with this UNC team

North Carolina lost another classic matchup with a fellow blue blood in Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic on Saturday. However, for whatever reasons may have cost UNC in Atlanta, Hubert Davis knows that a lack of competitiveness had nothing to do with it.

Davis addressed his team’s fight in their battle against the Wildcats during his postgame press conference after the 87-83 defeat inside State Farm Arena. Through their 7-3 start, he made it clear that one thing that he has never been concerned about is that aspect of his Tar Heels.

“The team has always had fight. That’s never been a question or a concern at all,” said Davis. “I love this group and I love their competitive fight.”

With that being the case, though, Davis did point out what cost North Carolina in the end.

None of what Davis listed off was too bad. Still, in a game that came within a possession or two, they were enough to kill the Tar Heel’s chances.

“One of the things that I talked to them before the game? In any game, but, specifically, games like this, is where they’re won is in the trenches,” said Davis. “In the trenches? What lives there is boxing out, loose balls, rebounds. Attacking the offensive glass, finishing around the basket – those types of plays.”

“They outrebounded us by 10, they got 18 offensive rebounds. We had 17 turnovers and we lost by four,” Davis said.

North Carolina did so much right against Kentucky to come back and be in position multiple times. RJ Davis and Cormac Ryan combined for 47 points on 53% shooting, including seven of the team’s eight three pointers. They also, as an entire team, outshot the Wildcats by knocking down 47.4% of their attempts.

Even so, as Davis noted, his team didn’t do some of the more important, smaller things that add up to wins.

They lost the rebound battle for just the third time this year. It was also the second straight game where they lost it by double-digits. The 11-board difference versus Kentucky, specifically due to the offensive glass, was the largest margin of their season. The Wildcats also had a better outing when comparing the assist-to-turnover ratios.

Again, North Carolina was right there. After going down by a dozen, they battled back to end the first half and down the stretch of the game to give themselves a chance.

It’s just that, in a handful of ways, they hurt themselves too much in a four-point loss in order to secure the win.