Hubert Davis discusses his halftime speech, how it helped against Ohio State

North Carolina utilized a passionate halftime speech from Hubert Davis and a Pete Nance buzzer-beater to defeat Ohio State at famed Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

Speaking with the media after the gigantic victory for the Tar Heels, Davis elaborated on his speech, and how it helped lead to victory for North Carolina.

“I was direct. I was straight-forward. I didn’t speak in tongues or interpretations. They knew exactly where I was coming from,” explained Davis. “That’s the way I always communicate, but I did it with a higher volume at halftime.

“Armando [Bacot] and Caleb [Love] have said they like the higher volume from me, and I’m going to continue to do that.”

Moreover, North Carolina trailed by nine after the first half, but outscored Ohio State 44-35 in the second half, and subsequently 10-5 in overtime to secure a victory. The aforementioned Bacot led the way with 28 points, with two other Tar Heels scoring 20-plus, as well.

Perhaps the victory over Ohio State will help North Carolina get back on track, as their season has been largely disappointing so far. Time will tell, but it’s a great starting point for the Tar Heels.

Armando Bacot discusses his North Carolina’s comeback OT victory against Ohio State

Furthermore, the North Carolina Tar Heels trailed for most of their game against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday night, but thanks to Pete Nance, they were able to drill a shot at the buzzer at the end of regulation to force overtime.

The Heels won 89-84 in overtime, and they were carried by their superstar center, Armando Bacot, who racked up the 56th double-double of his prolific career. He carried North Carolina on his back for much of the game. Following the win in Madison Square Garden, Bacot spoke with CBS sideline reporter Jenny Dell.

Bacot talked about what he found out about his teammates. After trailing for most of the game, they were able to pull out a comeback victory. 

“I mean, we just had to fight. Early in the first half, they punched us. And that was coach’s message to us at halftime. We just had to fight. We were soft. But I mean, at some point, we’ve gotta draw the line and I feel like today, we drew that line,” Bacot said.

Bacot has been dealing with an injured shoulder and he told Dell that he was feeling about 70 percent. Dell asked him how he was able to dig deep and be the catalyst for the ‘Heels, despite being injured. “My love for North Carolina. I mean, I love this school. I love these fans. I love everything about it. And I would die for this school, I really would,” Bacot said.

Bacot had a dominant performance, pumping in 28 points on 11 of 19 shooting from the field. He also corralled 15 rebounds, giving him his fifth straight double-double of the 2022-2023 campaign. 

The gifted big man has already endeared himself to North Carolina fans forever, but that second quote will only further cement him in the hearts of Tar Heel fans forever.

On3’s Wade Peery contributed to this article.