Visibly disappointed Hubert Davis addresses UNC loss to Pitt
The rollercoaster season for North Carolina continued Wednesday night in a stunning 76-67 home loss to Pitt. Understandably, Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis wasn’t happy after the game.
When the buzzer sounded, it was a Quadrant 4 loss for North Carolina. But Pitt jumped from 179 to 159 in the NET rankings on Thursday morning — making it a Q3 loss for the Tar Heels. Davis didn’t have much to say after the game, but was clearly disappointed with the outcome.
“I don’t know what transpired,” Davis told reporters. “I know that that our practice on Monday wasn’t very good. And I got after them about the attention to detail and our preparation in practice. I felt Tuesday was better but not where I wanted it to be. Just didn’t play the way that I hoped, anticipated, thought that we would play with so much to play for, so much motivation to compete and to have fun. Just very disappointed.”
Davis was then asked if it felt different losing to a team with a losing record. He had four words in his response.
“No,” he said. “Losing is losing.”
The Tar Heels remain in the conversation for the NCAA tournament, though. They came in as one of the last four byes in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology, which came out Thursday morning. North Carolina still doesn’t have a Quadrant 1 win, though, despite a win over Michigan last week. The Wolverines fell out of the top 30 in the NET, meaning it went back to a Q2 win.
Next up for the Tar Heels is a road matchup with Virginia Tech on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.
North Carolina to compete in 2022 Phil Knight Invitational
Thanksgiving has become a staple time of the schedule for college basketball, with some of the best non-conference matchups taking place. Whether it’s one-off neutral site games or midseason tournaments, every hoops fan can enjoy elite games with their turkey.
The 2022 season is going to be no different, with both the Phil Knight Invitational and Legacy tournaments getting announced on Tuesday afternoon. Both events will take place in Portland, OR, with the dates of Nov. 24-27. The University of Portland’s Chiles Center, Rose Quarter’s Moda Center, and Veterans Memorial Coliseum will be the three sites throughout the tournament.
Eight teams will participate in the Phil Knight Invitational from seven different conferences. Alabama, Iowa State, Michigan State, North Carolina, Oregon, Portland, UConn, and Villanova will spend their Thanksgiving in Portland. A bracket will be released at a later date. Each team will get to play three games, setting each other up for quality NCAA Tournament resume builders.