Hubert Davis' 10 Most Memorable Wins

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — With the Hubert Davis era officially in the books, a roller-coaster five-year run for North Carolina has come to a close. Ultimately, it was the head-scratching losses and inconsistencies that defined Davis’ tenure and cost him his job. Still, flaws aside, his 125 wins included some of the most memorable moments in program history.

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This column looks back at Davis’ tenure and the 10 most noteworthy wins of his time in charge of the Tar Heels. If you’re searching for advanced analytics, offensive efficiency ratings or points per possession as criteria, look away.

If you’re looking for a trip down memory lane in the midst of program limbo, you’ve come to the right place — here are this author’s picks for the 10 most memorable wins of Davis’ tenure, in chronological order:

November 9, 2021

Three days after Sam Howell and Ty Chandler led Mack Brown’s offense to 34 second half points in a come from behind win over then-undefeated No. 10 Wake Forest, all eyes in Chapel Hill swiftly turned to south campus, as a new dawn awaited Carolina basketball.

After nine seasons as an assistant at North Carolina, Davis led the Tar Heels to an 83-67 win over Loyola, giving the program’s 20th head coach his first career victory. Caleb Love led all scorers with 22 points, while Brady Manek added 20 in his UNC debut.

March 5, 2022

Entering Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, there was little reason for optimism in the regular-season finale of Davis’ first season. The unranked Tar Heels had lost by 20 points to their archrival in Chapel Hill earlier that year and entered as 11-point underdogs.

In front of more than 90 of Krzyzewski’s former players — inside a building that cost more than $5,000 to get into — North Carolina shot 59 percent in the second half, outscoring fourth-ranked Duke 55-40 after halftime, leaving Durham with a 94-81 victory. What was expected to be the grand finale of a season-long celebration was quickly sobered into a stunning upset, as the winningest coach in college basketball left his home court — a floor he had won 572 games on prior — with his 76th loss instead.

March 19, 2022 

After earning a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a 95-63 routing of Marquette in the first round, a much tougher test awaited North Carolina in Fort Worth against No. 1 seed and defending national champion Baylor.

In a game that foreshadowed future trends, UNC took a 13-point lead into halftime and pushed it to as many as 25 in the second half before the Bears rallied to tie it at 80 with 16 seconds remaining, forcing overtime.

Despite Brady Manek’s second half ejection and Caleb Love having fouled out, North Carolina outscored Baylor 13-6 in overtime to advance to the Sweet 16.

April 2, 2022 

And as if the sport’s greatest rivalry hadn’t already delivered enough, North Carolina’s unexpected run to the Final Four in Davis’ first season set up the largest meeting in UNC-Duke history — the two schools’ first NCAA Tournament matchup, on the sport’s biggest stage.

Trailing 37-34 at the break, the Tar Heels shot 50 percent in the second half, going 7 of 13 from 3-point range to outscore Duke 47-40 in the final 20 minutes. Brady Manek “bang-banged” his way into UNC lore behind three second half triples, while Armando Bacot added 11 points and a game-high 21 rebounds on one ankle.

Caleb Love led all scorers with 28 points, delivering the knockout blow — a top-of-the-key 3-pointer over Mark Williams — a shot that will live on in program history, putting the Tar Heels ahead by four with just under 25 seconds remaining and sending the Wicked Witch of West Durham into retirement at the hands of his archrival.

March 9, 2024

After dropping both meetings in 2023, Davis and North Carolina returned to Cameron Indoor Stadium with the makings of another instant classic.

With the ACC regular-season title at stake, the seventh-ranked Tar Heels entered Durham after taking the first matchup against No. 9 Duke in Chapel Hill, looking to deny the Blue Devils a share of the title.

Three 3-pointers before the first media timeout set the tone for a legendary performance from Cormac Ryan, who poured in a career-high 31 points at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The graduate transfer knocked down 6 of 8 from 3-point range and joined Davis, Luke Maye, Billy Cunningham, Doug Moe, Michael Jordan and Lennie Rosenbluth as the only Tar Heels to score 30 or more points in Durham.

UNC took a 40-31 lead into halftime after jumping out to a 21-6 advantage and held on for an 84-79 victory, securing the first — and only — ACC regular-season title of Davis’ tenure.

November 25, 2024

There was no need to fire up the coffee maker during North Carolina’s first game inside the Lahaina Civic Center since 2016 — one that featured a 21-point second-half comeback, with RJ Davis and Seth Trimble combining for 57 points.

Tar Heel fans may have reached for something stronger during a first half in which UNC committed 12 turnovers and trailed by 18 — a deficit that grew to 21 early in the second half.

Carolina roared back to cut the Dayton lead to eight with just over 10 minutes remaining, then took its first lead with 4:05 to play and gutted out a 92-90 victory, tying the second-largest comeback in program history and the largest of Davis’ tenure.

March 13, 2025 

Davis earned his 100th career win in his 143rd game as North Carolina defeated Wake Forest 68-59 in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.

This one won’t land in the Hall of Fame or be replayed years down the line — both teams shot an identical 33.9% from the field — but the Tar Heels gutted out a 68-59 win. 

UNC endured a second half stretch of 12 straight missed shots, including 15 of 16, but limited Wake Forest to 28 second-half points to secure the win, making Davis the sixth-fastest coach to reach 100 victories in ACC history.

January 10, 2026 

They don’t ask how, they ask how many, right? North Carolina knocked off Wake Forest 87-84 to secure its 500th win inside the Dean E. Smith Center.

The Tar Heels led by 15 with 9:50 remaining before going more than five minutes without a field goal, allowing the Demon Deacons to trim the lead to one with 4:03 to play.

Carolina outscored Wake Forest 12-10 down the stretch and went 8-of-12 from the free-throw line over the final four minutes to hold on for the historic win.

February 7, 2026 

Davis’ final win over Duke might have been his most dramatic. The fourth-ranked Blue Devils arrived in Chapel Hill with just one loss all season and a perfect 10-0 ACC record, looking to win their fourth straight against the Tar Heels and match the rivalry’s longest streak dating back to 2016.

As expected, Duke looked poised to take control early, jumping out to an 18-5 lead less than seven minutes into the game. If not for Caleb Wilson’s superman-like first half performance — scoring 17 of UNC’s 29 points — North Carolina’s 12-point halftime deficit would have been far worse.

A more inspired second half effort from Davis’ team trimmed the deficit to six with 2:51 remaining before UNC pulled even on Henri Veesaar’s right-wing 3-pointer with 1:40 to play.

Missed layups on consecutive possessions by Cameron Boozer gave the Tar Heels a chance to win it with 10 ticks remaining, and Seth Trimble delivered, burying a right-corner 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining to give UNC its first lead of the night — and another thrilling win over Duke under Davis.

March 3, 2026 

What proved to be Davis’ final game at the Smith Center was a memorable one, as the Tar Heels defeated Clemson 67-63 to cap a perfect 18-0 home record and set a single-season program record for home wins.

Behind a career-high 20 points from Luka Bogavac — 17 of them in the second half — UNC overcame a 30-27 halftime deficit to secure the victory and clinch the No. 4 seed and a double bye in the ACC Tournament.

The game also marked the return of Senior Night speeches to the Smith Center, something not seen since Roy Williams’ tenure, as Seth Trimble and Davis’ son, Elijah, delivered heartfelt messages to teammates, staff, and fans.