The North Carolina Tar Heels face critical hours ahead of Selection Sunday. After their ACC semifinal loss to No. 1 Duke, their NCAA season is hanging by a thread—though hope hasn’t wavered in Chapel Hill. Guard RJ Davis made sure to remind the league of the program’s accomplishments as the March Madness bracket is decided, and with it, the school’s fate.
North Carolina lost twice to Duke in less than a week’s span, dropping crucial showdowns which would have put them in a much more comforable position going into Selection Sunday in college basketball.
Both losses to Duke were heart-wrenching for UNC, each in its own way. The defeat at home on Senior Night in the Tobacco Road rivalry was disappointing, while the loss in the ACC semifinal was crushing. After rallying from behind, the Tar Heels were undone by an unfathomable lane violation, sealing their fate.
The Tar Heels were eliminated from the postseason by their biggest rivals, while the Blue Devils went on to claim the ACC championship. Now, North Carolina is left anxiously awaiting the NCAA‘s official announcement of the 68-team March Madness bracket. Ahead of the league’s decision, RJ Davis delivered a strong statement about the Tar Heels, and why they deserve to make the cut.
“I think we saw in the past couple weeks that we are a tournament team,” Davis said, per On3. “I think if you look at the trajectory of our whole season, the way we dealt with adversity, perseverance, and especially these last couple of weeks, we overcame all of that.
“You couldn’t ask for a better team than that, that goes through that type of adversity, goes through that type of criticism and still perseveres through it all and comes out on top. I think that’s a tournament team for you right there, because that’s what March is about.”
Tough way to go out
Jae’Lyn Withers made a critical mistake in the most pivotal moment of the ACC semifinal between Duke and UNC. With the Tar Heels down 72-71, the forward commited a disheartening free-throw lane violation while Ven-Allen Lubin was at the line, one basket away from tying the score. Many quickly pointed at the senior for the loss, with the 24-year-old making an honest admission about the decisive mistake.
“I guess you could say that I mistimed the [free throw] shot to secure the rebound in case he did miss,” Withers stated postgame. “The emotions following was just the sense of disbelief, initially. Following that, of course I’m going to be upset. But the game was over.”
Coach has their back
While it’s easy to point the finger at Withers for his costly error, Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis steered the focus away from the late-game incident, instead sending a positive message to the locker room.
“I played four years here, 12 years in the NBA, nine years as an assistant, and now four years as a head coach, and I can’t be more proud of a team than I am right now,” Davis said. “Just love these guys to death. I love their fight. I love their togetherness. I love how close they are. As I said before, I told them after the game, I didn’t think that I could be more proud of a group than I am right now, but I am even more proud.“