It took a complete turnaround in the second half for the UNC basketball program to escape South Bend with a win over Notre Dame on Wednesday night. But this late in the season, a win is a win and that’s all that matters for a team on the bubble.
UNC saved any chance they had at the NCAA Tournament by avoiding what would have been a bad loss. However, for the first 20 minutes of the game it looked like it wasn’t going to be their night, again.
But then the Tar Heels rallied and used a big second half to escape with the win.
Following the game, head coach Hubert Davis met the media to discuss the game and what went right and what went wrong. Here are a few quotes from that press conference as UNC gets set to prepare for a tough game against Virginia on Saturday at home.
On RJ Davis in the second half
“Well it was great. That’s all we talked about at halftime. It was a heated discussion at halftime with them. By the time it was almost the 16-minute mark, it was a one-point game. So it was a great example to them, what can happen when you play with sustained effort and energy and passion out there. That flurry with RJ, and then the three with Caleb was really big for us.”
via Inside Carolina
On the decision to foul up 3
“Well, there’s two choices. Let it play out or foul in the backcourt. That’s just the way that we play it. Does it mean a guarantee that it’s going to work out? No. I’ve seen it work, and I’ve seen it not work. That’s the way that we have practiced and talked about it and discussed it. We execute it and whether it ends in a win or a loss doesn’t mean it was right or wrong. But I’m glad that we were able to win the game.”
Via Inside Carolina
On facing Notre Dame for the second time
“Notre Dame is an unbelievable team. I don’t look at the record. They have an incredible coach in Coach (Mike) Brey. Those guys are experienced. They’ve been there before. They were an NCAA Tournament team last year. They’re very difficult to play because they know how to play. They’re skilled. They’re fundamentally sound. They’re tough. We knew what we were getting tonight. To win in the ACC is difficult and to win on the road is even more difficult. I’m very happy and very proud of the guys.”
Story continues
via Inside Carolina
On the difference in the second half
“We played harder. Energy, effort, passion. Obviously, we rebounded the ball extremely well. I thought defensively we were really good. I thought in the second half we took care of the basketball. We had zero assists and eight turnovers in the first half. Second half, we only had one turnover and eight assists. I thought that was huge. Then at the end of the day, guys are just gonna have to step up and make plays. Armando, RJ, Caleb, Leaky, Pete, all of them on both ends of the floor made numerous plays to give us a chance to win.”
Via Inside Carolina
Story originally appeared on Tarheels Wire
