RJ Davis shares halftime changes for North Carolina vs. Notre Dame

North Carolina scored 19 points in the first half Wednesday against Notre Dame. Something clicked at halftime, as the Tar Heels would end up taking home the victory 63-59 after a strong second-half showing.

UNC guard RJ Davis revealed the catalyst for North Carolina’s success coming out of the break — playing unselfish basketball.

“There were no X’s and O’s that we needed to throw out there, a new set of plays, any tweaks we had to make. It was more about fixing our energy and our mindset,” Davis said of UNC’s halftime message. “So, I felt like me just going out there and being the spark to get the team going — whether that’s making the play for my teammates, or making the play for myself — we were all cheering everybody on and uplifting everybody.”

The Tar Heels only managed eight assists on the night, but still saw four of five UNC starters score in double figures, including 12 points and 8 rebounds from Davis himself. Caleb Love and Armando Bacot combined for 32 points while Bacot and Leaky Black — the lone starter to finish in single digits — both finished with 11 rebounds a piece. Everybody was eating and it led to a well-earned victory for Hubert Davis’ group.

Still, UNC is 0-9 against Quad 1 opponents this season and is on the outside looking in when it comes to the NCAA Tournament, according to the latest projections from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. In fact, they’re rated as the first team out — but that was prior to defeating Notre Dame, though the Irish are ranked No. 196 in the NET rankings as of Thursday afternoon so it might not even help.

Carolina can earn their spot inside the bubble with a victory over No. 6 Virginia at home Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET live on ESPN. They’ll round their regular season out next week at Florida State and against Duke at home.