LUCAS: REGROUPING TOGETHER...
CLEMSON—Leave it to RJ Davis to succinctly summarize Carolina's experience over the last seven days playing road games in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
"On the road, you have to come into an arena thinking you're down 12-0," the New York native said.
That's what it has felt like in Carolina's last two road games—a visit to Louisville last Tuesday and a trip to Clemson tonight. In the course of just those two games, the Tar Heels have seen the following:
Objects thrown from the stands onto the court.
The opposition get the benefit of two flagrant fouls and a technical foul…all in the same half, which directly created 11 points for the opponent.
Multiple officiating reviews.
An opposing player who, of course, hailed from North Carolina, getting as hot as he's ever been in his life.
A game that featured 12 fouls in the first half and nearly twice as many (22) in the second, with neither team fouling on purpose to get back into the game.
One game's biggest pass being made by the player who also had the most turnovers.
Oh, and two victories.
One week after the Tar Heels escaped Louisville with a win, they did it again at Clemson, surviving a halting second half to beat the Tigers, 79-77, in a must-win game for NCAA Tournament credentials.
"There were moments things didn't go our way," Hubert Davis told Jones Angell on the Tar Heel Sports Network after the game. "Sometimes they were self-induced. We found a way to persevere. We always talk about the next shot and the next possession, and the guys did a great job of that."
It wasn't quite that 12-0 deficit that RJ Davis mentioned, but Carolina did trail by as many as 11 points in the game. Make no mistake—these last two road wins weren't easy, but they very easily could have been defeats.
Everyone contributed, including a first half appearance from Dontrez Styles and D'Marco Dunn. Those contributions extend all the way to the bench, where Hubert Davis quietly orchestrated the win with a couple important moves.
Those choices began in the wake of the disappointing loss to Duke, when Davis realized his tired team needed a lighter touch rather than a hard practice on Sunday. That workout included a shooting contest between players and coaches, a reminder that the game of basketball can still be fun (Please note here before you blow it out of proportion: that wasn't all Carolina did at that practice; they still got some work accomplished).
And Davis was solid on the bench on Tuesday, also. Timeouts are fickle. But it felt like Davis used his well, even when they didn't work out. He burned one with 2:09 remaining to set up a possession that eventually ended with a Caleb Love turnover for stepping on the sideline, but it seemed like the right play at that moment in that arena to regroup and get everyone moving in the same direction.
He called another with the score tied at 77 and set up the game-winning play on which Love drew the defense and dished to Brady Manek for the game-winner. Then, with Clemson inbounding 94 feet away and 3.1 seconds remaining, Davis let the Tigers draw up their play, got a look at how it set up on the court, and then called for another timeout, giving him the chance to set the defense after taking a look at what Brad Brownell was trying to accomplish.
Also, don't forget that in a game Carolina won by two points, Davis utilized his use-it-or-lose-it timeout in the first half to set up a play on which RJ Davis penetrated and found Armando Bacot for a dunk.
That's four Tar Heel timeouts—four timeouts in one game, or as we like to say it in Clemson, one more timeout than technical fouls/flagrant calls in one half—and four resulting points plus a defensive stop. That's a winning ratio.
Clemson sports marketing had put alternating purple and white shirts on the Littlejohn Coliseum promoting "Clemson Grit." It was the Tar Heel grit, however, that was decisive. Sure, this particular Carolina team sometimes puts the "argh" in argyle. But they've got two wins in two very hostile arenas in the last week.
"We tried to stay poised," RJ Davis said. "We said in the huddle, 'We have to remain together. We've been in this type of game before.' So we knew it was all about getting stops and execution at the end of the day. In basketball, there will be times that don't go your way. You're going to have foul calls and missed shots. On the road, it's about how you regroup together."
The Heels weren't artistic. The game had no rhythm. But it was a win, and wins are the only possible way to stay alive in the conference standings and the push for the NCAA Tournament.
Still, though, Hubert Davis has one tiny request of his team, one that's probably echoed by Tar Heels from Murphy to Manteo.
"I like blowouts," the exhausted head coach said. "I like when we blow teams out. That's a lot easier."
CLEMSON—Leave it to RJ Davis to succinctly summarize Carolina's experience over the last seven days playing road games in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
"On the road, you have to come into an arena thinking you're down 12-0," the New York native said.
That's what it has felt like in Carolina's last two road games—a visit to Louisville last Tuesday and a trip to Clemson tonight. In the course of just those two games, the Tar Heels have seen the following:
Objects thrown from the stands onto the court.
The opposition get the benefit of two flagrant fouls and a technical foul…all in the same half, which directly created 11 points for the opponent.
Multiple officiating reviews.
An opposing player who, of course, hailed from North Carolina, getting as hot as he's ever been in his life.
A game that featured 12 fouls in the first half and nearly twice as many (22) in the second, with neither team fouling on purpose to get back into the game.
One game's biggest pass being made by the player who also had the most turnovers.
Oh, and two victories.
One week after the Tar Heels escaped Louisville with a win, they did it again at Clemson, surviving a halting second half to beat the Tigers, 79-77, in a must-win game for NCAA Tournament credentials.
"There were moments things didn't go our way," Hubert Davis told Jones Angell on the Tar Heel Sports Network after the game. "Sometimes they were self-induced. We found a way to persevere. We always talk about the next shot and the next possession, and the guys did a great job of that."
It wasn't quite that 12-0 deficit that RJ Davis mentioned, but Carolina did trail by as many as 11 points in the game. Make no mistake—these last two road wins weren't easy, but they very easily could have been defeats.
Everyone contributed, including a first half appearance from Dontrez Styles and D'Marco Dunn. Those contributions extend all the way to the bench, where Hubert Davis quietly orchestrated the win with a couple important moves.
Those choices began in the wake of the disappointing loss to Duke, when Davis realized his tired team needed a lighter touch rather than a hard practice on Sunday. That workout included a shooting contest between players and coaches, a reminder that the game of basketball can still be fun (Please note here before you blow it out of proportion: that wasn't all Carolina did at that practice; they still got some work accomplished).
And Davis was solid on the bench on Tuesday, also. Timeouts are fickle. But it felt like Davis used his well, even when they didn't work out. He burned one with 2:09 remaining to set up a possession that eventually ended with a Caleb Love turnover for stepping on the sideline, but it seemed like the right play at that moment in that arena to regroup and get everyone moving in the same direction.
He called another with the score tied at 77 and set up the game-winning play on which Love drew the defense and dished to Brady Manek for the game-winner. Then, with Clemson inbounding 94 feet away and 3.1 seconds remaining, Davis let the Tigers draw up their play, got a look at how it set up on the court, and then called for another timeout, giving him the chance to set the defense after taking a look at what Brad Brownell was trying to accomplish.
Also, don't forget that in a game Carolina won by two points, Davis utilized his use-it-or-lose-it timeout in the first half to set up a play on which RJ Davis penetrated and found Armando Bacot for a dunk.
That's four Tar Heel timeouts—four timeouts in one game, or as we like to say it in Clemson, one more timeout than technical fouls/flagrant calls in one half—and four resulting points plus a defensive stop. That's a winning ratio.
Clemson sports marketing had put alternating purple and white shirts on the Littlejohn Coliseum promoting "Clemson Grit." It was the Tar Heel grit, however, that was decisive. Sure, this particular Carolina team sometimes puts the "argh" in argyle. But they've got two wins in two very hostile arenas in the last week.
"We tried to stay poised," RJ Davis said. "We said in the huddle, 'We have to remain together. We've been in this type of game before.' So we knew it was all about getting stops and execution at the end of the day. In basketball, there will be times that don't go your way. You're going to have foul calls and missed shots. On the road, it's about how you regroup together."
The Heels weren't artistic. The game had no rhythm. But it was a win, and wins are the only possible way to stay alive in the conference standings and the push for the NCAA Tournament.
Still, though, Hubert Davis has one tiny request of his team, one that's probably echoed by Tar Heels from Murphy to Manteo.
"I like blowouts," the exhausted head coach said. "I like when we blow teams out. That's a lot easier."
