R.J. is going to L.A. for the first time.
And based on Carolina’s convincing second-round win over Michigan State, he won’t have to carry as much of the team along with his bags to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.
Davis was still the Tar Heels’ high scorer in the 85-69 victory at the partisan Spectrum Center in Charlotte, but he had to work extra hard against a defense geared to containing him while the Spartans of the Big Ten built an early 12-point lead.
“For the first 10 minutes, they overwhelmed us,” said Hubert Davis after his team advanced to the regional semifinals for the second time in his three years as UNC’s head coach. “They were catching the ball anywhere they wanted, in the paint, on the block, they were playing better than we were.”
It became of matter of what Davis’ old coach Dean Smith used to preach: “We want to do what we want to do, not do what they want us to do.”
The animated Hubert let his team know during the first two TV timeouts, as he went to his bench even earlier than usual trying to stop Michigan State from taking complete control almost midway through the first half, using Seth Trimble for defense and Jae’Lyn Withers for rebounding help.
Hubert Davis was FIRED UP during his sideline interview.
Then UNC outscored MSU 23-3 in the final 8 mins 😤 pic.twitter.com/CzdRa75Iff
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 23, 2024
Then something almost-magical happened, likely demonstrating to a national television audience that Carolina is a serious contender for the national championship. The Tar Heels suddenly looked and acted like they were the superior team with better players.
After Tyson Walker — who led all scorers with 24 points — drained two straight 3-pointers, MSU managed only three points for the next eight minutes as the Heels scored 20 and had the home of the Hornets rocking.
And they did it with that special blend of toughness, talent and togetherness that has not always been in sync this season. Now, with something bigger than all of them at stake, they became intentional and unselfish in their desire to win.
Every one of the nine players Hubert used made significant contributions, from Armando Bacot ruling the paint, to Harrison Ingram going 3-for-3 from the arc, to Davis fighting his way through traffic to make four field goals; the last was on his second 3-pointer from the right corner after a basket-to-basket drive and feed from Paxson Wojcik, the ninth man, for a four-point lead that forced a timeout by stunned Tom Izzo.
Wojcik’s father Doug is on Izzo’s staff, and Paxson having spent time in East Lansing had contemporaries yelling and waving hello while he warmed up in front of the Michigan State bench. They might have seen Wojcik in the Skims underwear commercial with five other college players and the social media posts that showed Kylie Jenner, the 26-year-old multi-media millionaire, is following him on Instagram.
By the time the half ended with the Tar Heels up nine, the Spartans almost didn’t know what hit them.
After Cormac Ryan swished his second 3-pointer to start the second half, Sparty cut the lead to two before the Heels stepped on the gas again to lead by as many as 17 before the game ended with Hubert clearing his bench to roars from the light blue brigade who made it a “TAR!!! HEEL!!!” home-court advantage.
The game was filled with nuanced success like Elliot Cadeau’s determined defense that kept opposing guards from penetrating, to Trimble’s two key blocks on taller shooters, to Ingram hitting two more three balls (one that did a spin cycle around the rim before dropping in), to R.J.’s banked 3-pointer, to Withers scoring off Bacot assists in the crowded lane, to Jalen Washington getting 4 points, 3 rebounds and an assist in his seven first-half minutes.
UNC’s R.J. Davis celebrates after hitting a three-pointer in the first half against Michigan State. Davis led the Tar Heels with 20 points, but the balanced scoring showed how the Tar Heels can all fill up the box score. (Photo by Todd Melet/WCHL & Chapelboro.)
UNC’s Harrison Ingram tied his career high with five three-pointers against the Spartans. (Photo by Todd Melet/WCHL & Chapelboro.)
The four “scoring” starters finished in double figures and Elliot fashioned the “Cadeau combo” with 6 points and 4 assists.
Carolina did not win the backboard battle for the first time in 25 games but everything else was better than Michigan State, whose lionized coach gave all the credit to his younger counterpart and a team that his admittedly could not handle.
This may have been Hubert Davis’ finest hour as a coach to date, from emotion on the sideline, to quick words of praise for his players and for his undying belief in the process.
In the post-game press conference, Bacot talked about how Davis has held the team accountable while also nurturing this reconfigured roster when no one was sure how it might work out. Hubert said he always had faith it would.
Why is that?
Davis recounted how when the players go out to eat, they move tables around so everyone can sit together. “It’s never four doing this and four doing that,” he said. “From when they all got on campus last summer, they wanted to be a team.”
That will be paramount in the West Regional weekend, when the Tar Heels who with two more victories can return to the Final Four they nearly won two years ago before falling apart last season.
They will meet the winner of highly favored Alabama over Cinderella Grand Canyon, and playing the run-and-gun Crimson Tide could be the most exciting track meet ever staged on a basketball court.
In a place where R.J. Davis says he has never been. “I had a high school tournament somewhere in California, but I’ve never been to L.A. I’m excited about going,” he said.
Bacot may be the fifth-year “granddad” of the team, Ingram the personality who “lights up” the locker room and the huddle, Ryan the relentless scrapper, and Cadeau the pup who is learning the importance of every possession on both ends of the court, their leader shoulders most of the burden in perhaps his last year of college ball.
“We asked a lot of R.J.,” Hubert said, “handle the basketball, distribute, score, defend, rebound, lead our team; there’s a lot on his plate. He never complains, never whines, shows up every day, practices hard. What a great example for the younger players to see someone at the highest level and what goes into it. We’re gonna ride his back the remainder of the season, and I wouldn’t want to ride anyone except for R.J. He’s been absolutely fantastic.”
Ingram, the Stanford transfer, says he and Bacot have worked out in La La Land and have some friends on the West Coast. Surely, they will introduce them to the ACC Player of the Year and consensus All-American whose accepted journey is to lead Carolina to the promised land.
Ca-li-forn-ia, here they come.
Featured image by Todd Melet/WCHL & Chapelboro.
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
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