Davis Credits North Carolina's Players for Comeback Win

If there were any doubts about the North Carolina's mental and physical toughness, those were put to bed after Saturday night's comeback win over the Duke Blue Devils. The Tar Heels overcame a 13-point deficit in the 71-68 win, which was capped off by Seth Trimble's game-winning shot at the buzzer.

While speaking with the media during his postgame press conference, head coach Hubert Davis explained his team's performance in adverse situations.

Davis' Thoughts

Feb 7, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Dame Sarr (7) and North Carolina Tar Heels guard Seth Trimble (7) fight for the ball in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

It was a tale of two halves, as North Carolina played a flawless 20 minutes in the second half, which is when the team flipped the script. The 55-year-old head coach explained the issues the Tar Heels dealt with in the first half, and how those were minimized in the second half.

“Yeah, (that) we’d continue to fight. We were down, but I think one of the things that we were missing is we didn’t join the fight," Davis said. "Every 50/50 loose ball they were getting, whether the ball was going up in the air on the ground, they were the first ones to get it. And we just continue to stick to it anytime, every time that we got knocked down, not only did we get back up, we kept taking a step forward. And as we continue to cut into the lead, our confidence just got better on both ends of the floor.”

“And then Henri [Veesaar] stepped up," Davis continued. "He had zero defensive rebounds in the first half. He had a double-double for the second half. And so his ability to dominate points in the paint for us was huge, and Caleb kept us around in the first half, and then Henri, Derek hit some threes, Seth, other guys joined the party, and it was a team effort.”

Feb 7, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels center Henri Veesaar (13) reacts with forward Jarin Stevenson (15) in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Following the game, Davis deflected all praise and gave credit to his players for sticking together when Duke had all momentum.

“It’s all them, nothing by me, nothing. The wins go to them, and the losses go to me. It is what it is, and it’s all them," Davis said. "So, it was great. We talked about the mistakes that we’re making, that we can fix those mistakes, and we have the ability to make changes. So, that’s a good thing when you have problems and you can fix them… we just started to execute on both ends of the floor, and I felt confident that we can get back in the game.”

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