North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis critical of his team's effort in first half vs. Ohio State

North Carolina and Ohio State were battling on the hardwood on Saturday afternoon. After a sluggish start, the Buckeyes got a lift from their stud freshman Brice Sensabaugh. He stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, seven rebounds, and three assists at the half. Ohio State went on a 18-2 run to hold a 44-35 advantage over the Tar Heels at halftime. UNC big man Armando Bacot pumped in 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting for the ‘Heels. Just before the start of the second half, North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis spoke with CBS sideline reporter Jenny Dell. He was clearly disappointed with his team’s effort in the first half.

North Carolina’s Hubert Davis was not pleased at halftime

“I was able to talk to Hubert Davis coming out of the locker room and he said all week long they’ve really been preaching the physicality of this Ohio State team. He said, ‘Right now, I am not happy with the way our team is playing. They’re playing soft. So in the second half, he wants to match their physicality, match their toughness. He did not want to talk about individual players, guys” Dell said of Hubert Davis’ comments.

North Carolina shot only 11 percent from three-point range in the first half.

The Tar Heels came out hot in the second half and closed the Ohio State lead to 46-45 with less than 16 minutes remaining in the second half, so clearly they got their head coach’s message at the half. UNC went on a 10-2 run after they drilled four consecutive shots.

Whatever Davis said to his team in the locker room at halftime worked. The Tar Heels prevailed 89-84 in overtime. The ‘Heels nearly lost in regulation, but Pete Nance drilled a shot at the buzzer that forced overtime. North Carolina big man Armando Bacot once again had another dominant showing, pumping in 28 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. It was his 56th career double-double.