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Hubert Davis urges UNC to cut down on turnovers in Sweet 16 vs. Alabama

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh•03/28/24•

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© Bob Donnan

Nerves are being straightened out in Los Angeles with Alabama and North Carolina competing in the Sweet Sixteen. Both teams have been a little loose with the ball, turning it over more than either head coach would like.

Hubert Davis knows Alabama wants to get down the court and never let North Carolina set their defense. No better way for them to do that than turning the ball over, especially live ball. When Alabama is able to get in transition, points can begin to add up quite quickly.

“We got to take care of the basketball and take good shots,” Davis said at the first-half under-12 timeout with CBS’ Allie LaForce. “I never worry about transition defense if you make your shots, take good shots. You get to the free throw line and take care of the basketball instead of going up against a set defense.

“They’re getting points in transition because we’re turning the ball over. And our shot selection has gotten worse, we got to get that back.”

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Outside of the turnovers, Davis mentioned needing to take good shots. Cormac Ryan has been doing well early on for North Carolina, continuing to terrorize Alabama dating back to his time at Notre Dame in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

Head coach Nate Oats has also left Elliot Cadeau open at times and he has delivered for North Carolina. It’s not something Alabama had in the game plan. Despite his season-long struggles, if Cadeau can hit those, Davis will be quite happy.

Hubert Davis reevaluates North Carolina heading into halftime locker room

Davis spoke with LaForce again after watching the final 10-plus minutes of the half. What he said during the timeout wound up panning out and North Carolina was able to set their defense more often.

The job is not done, though. Another 20 minutes are left to play out West before UNC can punch its ticket to the Elite Eight.

“I was really proud of them in the first half — we started taking care of the basketball, getting good shots,” Davis said. “That allowed them to go up against a set defense. Which is good news for us, bad news for them. We have to continue to do that in the second half.”