What UNC’s Hubert Davis said about rivalry showdown at Duke amid Tar Heels’ struggles

North Carolina coach Hubert Davis chose to downplay the significance of his team’s Saturday showdown at No. 2 Duke following the Tar Heels’ dispiriting 73-65 loss at Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. The defeat was UNC’s third in its last four games and raises the stakes of the upcoming rivalry game for a team that is scrambling to assemble an NCAA Tournament resume.

“We’ll practice, and we’ll play with the same type of competitive enthusiasm that we played with tonight,” Davis said. “I don’t believe in one game. I think every game is a Super Bowl. Whether it’s a preseason game, anytime you get a chance to step out (on the floor).”

But the reality is — and Davis knows — the Duke game means more. This time, it’s not just because it’s a rivalry game. Rather, it’s a rivalry game that comes as the Tar Heels are backed into a corner. UNC entered the Pitt game among one of the “Last Four in” the projected NCAA Tournament of CBS Sports Bracketology Expert Jerry Palm and is now just 13-9 (6-4 ACC) after beginning the season at No. 9 in the AP poll.

North Carolina is no stranger to adversity under fourth-year Davis, and there is precedent for that adversity creating vastly different outcomes.

What’s now required for North Carolina to make good on preseason expectations is something like the high-wire act Davis pulled off in 2022. Following a 12-6 (4-3 ACC) start to his debut campaign, the Tar Heels won 11 of 13 games to close the regular season and solidify their place in the NCAA Tournament.

From there, they made an improbable run to the national championship game as a No. 8 seed. Perhaps a win over the Blue Devils on Saturday could be the start of a similar storybook run.

But on the flip side, there is the cautionary tale of what happened in the 2022-23 season. UNC became the first-ever preseason No. 1 team to miss the NCAA Tournament when it lost five of six games to begin February. 

It’s no coincidence that North Carolina finished 0-2 against Duke that season. Building an NCAA Tournament resume in the ACC without beating the Blue Devils is tough when you aren’t taking care of business against the league’s middle class.

While the Tar Heels’ first six losses over the season’s first two months each came against teams comfortably projected to make the NCAA Tournament, the past two weeks have kicked concern into high gear. 

One-point losses to Stanford and Wake Forest, plus a narrow overtime home win against lowly Boston College revealed serious warts. UNC has played in nine one-score games so far this season and is 5-4 in such contests. On Tuesday night, everything broke down in the second half against Pitt as the Panthers outscored UNC 14-2 over the game’s final 5:33 to score a big victory for their own NCAA Tournament chances.

“The choice is to get back up and step forward and continue to competitively fight and prepare and continue to improve,” Davis said afterward. “I just don’t even think there is a choice.”