Hubert Davis Stresses Importance of UNC Staying in the Moment

The North Carolina Tar Heels suffered an 80-79 loss to the Clemson Tigers in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament on Thursday night. Despite having more time to prepare, the Tar Heels were unable to take advantage of the circumstances. Now, North Carolina will enter the NCAA tournament on a two-game skid.

While speaking with the media during his postgame press conference, head coach Hubert Davis discussed how the team must remain together during adversity.

Davis' Thoughts

Mar 12, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis with guard Kyan Evans (0) in the first half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

"Yeah, I think that's a great question," Davis said of the parity in the ACC this season. "I'm just not there. I'm here with our team. Big-picture questions -- it's not that I can't answer it, I'm just not thinking about that right now. I'm thinking about our team and thinking about these kids and thinking about the NCAA Tournament next week."

North Carolina has battled adversity throughout the season, and Seth Trimble's experience and leadership have been important factors in the team's ability to stay afloat. The 55-year-old head coach highlighted Trimble's impact as the leader.

Mar 12, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Seth Trimble (7) on defense against Clemson Tigers guard Ace Buckner (21) during the first half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

"Well, yeah. Seth [Trimble] is one of our leaders on the team, somebody that should be celebrated for obviously his career thus far," Davis said. "But being as accomplished as a player, for him to be a four-year player, committed to his team, committed to this program, committed to this university for four years is something, as I said before, should be highlighted and celebrated."

If you were to have someone to lead a team, you would want somebody that's been in the program for a while, and Seth definitely has done that," Davis continued.

Mar 12, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis reacts in the first half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

North Carolina went into halftime down by eight points, and that deficit ballooned to 18 points halfway through the second half. As the Tar Heels desperation increased, so did their level of play. North Carolina was able to trim the deficit to one point, but it simply ran out of time. Davis spoke on how that has been a consistent message during the last few days leading up to this contest.

"Yes. Specifically, I talked to the team - what is today, Thursday? Tuesday, Wednesday and today, about having that hunger and that thirst," Davis said. "That hunger and that thirst to compete, that hunger and thirst to prepare, to practice, hunger and thirst to play together as a team and as a group as long as we can. We have talked about that at great length."