4 Most Important Quotes Entering UNC-Syracuse Matchup

The North Carolina Tar Heels will head on the road to take on the Syracuse Orange in a must-win game. Here are quotes from this week that carry weight into Saturday's matchup.

North Carolina's Effort Needs to Improve

Feb 17, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis reacts during the first half against the NC State Wolfpack at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

“I just felt like our competitive fight wasn’t there," Hubert Davis said. "Especially from a defensive standpoint, they didn’t feel us defensively. Didn’t feel our presence at all. We talked about that, and at the end of the day, it’s going to end up being one-on-one defense. Can we defend them without fouling? Are we man enough when the ball goes up in there on the ground? Can we go get it? And I don’t think we did a very good job of that.”

“I’ve been consistent with this all year, that our heartbeat, our lifeline… it starts with defense and us rebounding," Davis said. "That’s what leads us to really good offense, and we weren’t tough enough. We weren’t good enough on the defensive end. Now, we did get offensive rebounds, but the physical presence that you have to have defensively, we just didn’t do that today.”

The Tar Heels' Shooting Woes

Feb 10, 2026; Coral Gables, Florida, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Derek Dixon (3) protects the basketball from Miami Hurricanes guard Dante Allen (35) and center Ernest Udeh Jr. (8) during the second half at Watsco Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

We definitely could have shot the ball better," Jarin Stevenson said. We had some solid looks, but i just think it comes down to us fighting back. We got to be more physical. They were making plays, and I felt like we weren't responding the way we should have, and even we were missing shots, we still got to be fighting back."

“Guys are [going to] have bad games, I’m [going to] have bad games,” Derek Dixon said during his postgame availability after the team's win over Pittsburgh. “Didn’t shoot it particularly well tonight… I just tried to impact the game in any way I could, making right reads, making good passes, taking care of the ball and getting on the glass.”

Davis Provides Update on Caleb Wilson

Feb 10, 2026; Coral Gables, Florida, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Caleb Wilson (8) drives to the basket against Miami Hurricanes center Ernest Udeh Jr. (8) during the second half at Watsco Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

"I'll have an update for you next week. That's when they're [going to] do some more images," Davis said. "It was already scheduled by the time we found out that he did break his hand. He's been in my office every day. He wants to practice today, but I'm not [going to] let him."

"What he's doing in the weight room, what he's doing conditioning wise, it's real," Davis continued. "His ball handling, he can shoot it, he just can't catch it. And so, he does all the regular shooting drills that he does, you just have to bounce pass it to him. So, other than regularly passing the ball to him, he's doing everything. Obviously not playing five-on-five or anything like that, no contact. But in terms of no contact, he's doing everything. And when he comes back, he'll be in shape and he'll be ready to go."

Henri Veesaar's Status Against Syracuse

Feb 2, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Kyan Evans (0) and center Henri Veesaar (13) and forward Jonathan Powell (11) react in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

"His outlook is day-to-day. Every day, he's getting better in regard to the lower extremities," Davis said. "He's getting better also with his flu. He's making huge strides every day, and every day we'll evaluate and see when he's available to practice. And then when he's able to practice, see when he's able to play."

“He’s getting better every day,” Davis said. “Had an individual workout yesterday. He’s planning on participating in practice today, limited basis, but he is still questionable, so we just got to see how practice goes.”

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