Hubert Davis reveals message after hot start against strong Tennessee defense

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Entering Wednesday’s game against North Carolina in the ACC-SEC Challenge, Tennessee ranked No. 1 in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom. However, the Tar Heels had their way in the early going, taking a commanding 61-39 lead into halftime.

But Hubert Davis had a simple message for his UNC players after such a quick start.

“You have to play two halves,” Davis told ESPN’s Myron Medcalf. “Our message is the same at the beginning of the game. We have to be solid on both ends of the floor. The thing for us that we always focus on is three things: defensively, rebounding the basketball, taking care of the basketball. We feel like if we check those three boxes, it puts us in a good position.”

North Carolina put together a complete effort in the first half. The Tar Heels shot 57.6% from the field, including a 7-for-16 showing from three-point distance, and made all 16 of their free throw attempts. Tennessee, meanwhile, shot 53.3% from the floor but went just 1-for-12 from downtown through the first 20 minutes.

Davis acknowledged the challenge the Vols present on defense — a consistent strength under Rick Barnes. The key to getting through it, though, was to control the tempo. North Carolina did just that.

“They are, they’re an unbelievable defensive team,” Davis said. “And I felt like in the first half, we got our pace on the offensive end, but it started off defensively. We got stops, we boxed out, we rebound and then, we got out in transition. That was just huge for us to be able to attack offensively before their defense gets set.”

One of the keys for North Carolina was to get Armando Bacot on track. It was a rough three games in The Bahamas for Bacot as he scored 10 points one time in that span. Through the first half against Tennessee, he scored 15 points — and the plan was to keep him as the key piece of the offense.

“He’s going to be a focal point. He has been every game,” Hubert Davis said this week. “They’re not going to let him just post up and score. They’re going to make it very difficult for him – they’re going to hard dig, they’re going to double-team, they’re going to be physical with him.

“Those are things that all of us, as players, have to adjust to to be able to be the best that we can be out there on the floor.”