Hubert Davis speaks about North Carolina’s ability to overcome adversity

Before defeating Duke 93-84 on Saturday, North Carolina came into the matchup having been upset by an 11-loss Georgia Tech squad.

Most teams wouldn’t know how to follow up a loss like that, but the Tar Heels held strong on their home court, maintaining the lead for over 39 minutes of action to defeat No. 7 Duke by a comfortable margin.

“It doesn’t happen all the time, but this team, I think one of the characteristics of this team has been being able to handle a little bit of adversity and bounce back,” head coach Hubert Davis said after UNC’s win. “One of the things that we always talk about is, whether good things or bad things happen, the only thing you have control over is how you react and how you respond.

“And I feel like all year our guys have done a really good job reacting and responding, whether something’s going well for us or we’re struggling with it.

During the Georgia Tech loss, every North Carolina player aside from RJ Davis, who scored a game-high 28 points, scored in the single figures. Armando Bacot finished with nine points and nine rebounds, but it ultimately was not enough and GT’s Naithan George hit the go-ahead layup in the final seconds of regulation to take down the Tar Heels.

A different team showed up in Chapel Hill on Saturday. Bacot turned his forgettable performance into a 25-point, 10-rebound double-double and RJ Davis continued with his hot hand, notching 17 points in the win. Hubert Davis explained some of the changes he has seen out of his players in the past few days and in turn, against their bitter rivals.

“Just the conversations in the huddle, the conversations on the floor with these guys,” Davis said. “They’re locked in, they’re communicating, they’re talking, they’re all on the same page. It gives you great confidence as a coach that they can do the things they need to do to continue to win out there on the floor.”

With North Carolina’s new found confidence following the Duke win, the Tar Heels move on to face Clemson on Tuesday at home. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET live on ESPN.

One more regular season matchup between Carolina and Duke is scheduled for the regular season finale in Durham on March 9. A potential ACC Tournament matchup, or even better a NCAA Tournament matchup between the two rivals is still on the table as well.