Hubert Davis: 'Now It's Time to Regroup'

DURHAM, N.C. — No. 17 North Carolina fell, 76-61, to No. 1 Duke in its regular season finale on Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. 

The Tar Heels trailed by five at halftime but couldn’t keep pace with the Blue Devils in the second half, as a 24-2 scoring run put away the game. UNC tied its season-high in turnovers, allowing Duke 24 points off of them.

Derek Dixon’s five 3-pointers led North Carolina in scoring with 17 points, but it wasn’t enough to keep pace with four Blue Devils in double figures, including Cameron Boozer who led all scorers with 26 points on 10-for-17 shooting. 

Watch Hubert Davis’ postgame press conference in full below, and scroll down to read some of his noteworthy excerpts.

What led to Duke’s large run in the second half that decided the game?

Davis: “At the beginning of the game, I was clear and definitive on things that we have to do better compared to the first time that we played them. Number one on the list was rebounding, and they got 18 offensive rebounds. That’s just not sustainable. And we needed to do a better job of taking care of the basketball, and our 14 turnovers turned into 24 points for them. So we were outscored by 20 in terms of points off of turnovers and so that’s how you get on runs, and that’s how people get runs on you is giving them second chances to score and not taking care of the basketball.”

What was your initial reaction to Caleb Wilson’s injury and how does this team move forward?

“Found out about it yesterday… our team will move forward, and our team has moved forward all year. Seth was out for nine games, Caleb’s been out for seven and Henri was out for two, and so it’s nothing different than how our team has reacted and responded throughout the whole season.

“Obviously, there’s tremendous sadness for him. I’ve talked about how special, obviously he’s a special player, but just how remarkable of a kid and a teammate he is, and the passion that he has for his teammates, for North Carolina, for being on the floor, for playing in games like this — it was a dream for him to play in the ACC in the NCAA tournament, and my heart is broken that he won’t be able to do that. But we finished the regular season. Now it’s time to regroup.”

What was it about Duke’s defensive pressure that made it so difficult for UNC in the second half?

“They’ve got length and athleticism. They do a really good job not just getting steals, but also getting deflections. They went to their ‘small lineup,’ so they were switching everything, and when teams switch, you have to make them pay. We weren’t able to do that. A number of times they had perimeter players on our bigs. And we didn’t take advantage of that, but you have to give credit to them. A reason why they’re one of the better defensive teams in the country is because they have good team defense, but they also have really good individual defenders. Dame Sarr was really good getting skills and deflections, and I thought he did a really nice job tonight.”

How would you assess the temperature of the locker room after tonight and with Wilson’s injury?

“Our temperature was great… One of the things that I told them — and I was truthful to them — now it’s 31 games, but prior to tonight, it was 30 games — 15 of the games we were either without Seth, without Caleb or Henri. In those games, we were 12-3. With a full lineup, we were 12-3. So I said, ‘We have more than enough to get it done.’ And I love these kids. I love the fight, the resiliency, the perseverance of this group, and I’ll roll with this team and this group every day.”