Skip to main content
Join Now
Team Avatar
North Carolina

Hubert Davis hot seat: Bruce Pearl reacts to UNC first round exit, rumors of HC change

Danby: Daniel Hager03/22/26DanielHagerOn3

Former Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl is the latest prominent college basketball figure to weigh in on the Hubert Davis situation at North Carolina.

For the first time in program history, the Tar Heels have lost back-to-back NCAA Tournament First Round games. Both losses came under Davis, who just completed his fifth season with the program.

The Tar Heels led No. 11 seed VCU Thursday night by as many as 19 points in the second half, but ended up falling in overtime to the Rams 82-78. This has led to immense backlash from North Carolina fans, upset with how the past four seasons have played out.

“Huge RESPECT for Hubert Davis!” Pearl wrote on X/Twitter. “UNC is one of the top 5 jobs in the country and back to back first round exits won’t cut it. Coach Davis would be the first to admit it. Hope the UNC family finds a way to support Hubert and his staff! Stay tuned!”

Davis’ first season at the helm (2021-22) ended in North Carolina making a run to the National Championship Game as a No. 8 seed. Since that run, however, the past four seasons have been a disappointment for the blue blood.

The Tar Heels missed the 2023 NCAA Tournament as the Preseason No. 1-ranked team in the country, fell to No. 4 seed Alabama in the 2024 Sweet Sixteen, and have dropped back-to-back First Round games (No. 6 seed Ole Miss and No. 11 seed VCU).

Fellow former college head coach, Seth Greenberg, also called out Hubert Davis

During Friday morning’s ‘First Take,’ ESPN’s Seth Greenberg called out Hubert Davis and the North Carolina program for ‘not being up to the standard.’

“One thing about Hubert, he has to better understand the business of college basketball and how it’s changed. And he’s got to have a staff that reflects that, that has the contacts and the network,” Greenberg said. “The business of college basketball is very different than it was four years ago, five years ago, three years ago. And what they’ve got to do is they’ve got to get into the trenches. They’ve got to find a way to have the contacts and relationships to get the best players in the country.

“So they’ve got to improve their recruiting if (Davis) is going to remain the coach, and I think this (upcoming year) he’s got to get it done. Because the standard is the standard at North Carolina, and they haven’t been up to the standard.”

Across five seasons, Davis has led North Carolina to a 125-54 (68-30) record.