Why Davis Credits Tar Heels’ Depth for Winning Ways

The North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the Syracuse Orange 87-77 on Monday night at the Dean E. Smith Center, improving their record to 18-4.

It was another example of North Carolina's depth playing a pivotal role in the Tar Heels' victory against Syracuse.

While speaking with the media during his postgame press conference, head coach Hubert Davis detailed what factors led to North Carolina's wire-to-wire victory.

Davis' Thoughts

Feb 2, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Luka Bogavac (44) with the ball as Syracuse Orange guard Nate Kingz (4) and forward Donnie Freeman (1) defend in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

"I thought Luka [Bogavac] was really good defensively," Davis said. " [He] did a really nice job defending, trying to help out rebounding the basketball. He was getting to the offensive glass and didn't get any offensive rebounds, but he went. That's something that is a job and a requirement of our wing players to get to the offensive glass.

Bogavac finished with 10 points while shooting 4-of-6 from the field, including making his lone three-point attempt.

"Just had a real nice rhythm and pace on the offensive end," Davis continued. "Being able to shoot the ball, and his ability to pass is real. He's in a nice rhythm right now, and I'm really happy with his play."

Feb 2, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Kyan Evans (0) 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

Jonathan Powell was impressive on Monday night, recording 12 points while shooting 4-of-5 from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Davis shared his thoughts on the forward's performance.

"Jonathan [Powell], I thought, did a really nice job for us," Davis said. "Obviously, his ability to be able to shoot the basketball was good, but he's a big guard, physical, competitive. In our switches, he can guard one through four. He does a really nice job rebounding. He even led us in rebounding at Virginia. He can do a number of different things and impact winning in a number of different areas. I thought he played really well tonight."

Feb 2, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Jarin Stevenson (15) with the ball as Syracuse Orange guard Naithan George (11) and forward Ibrahim Souare (10) defend in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The Tar Heels end of the first half was impressive, and Powell was a driving force of that, scoring five quick points in a 30-second span. The 55-year-old head coach explained how that stretch illustrated the roster's development.

"I think there's growth there, in ending halves the right way and coming out in the second half and raising that level," Davis said. "I think that's something that we have grown from, say at the beginning of the year, that's something that we're improving."

"The consistency to put 40 minutes together, I know it's not realistic, but I'm going for perfection and hope we can get somewhere close to that," Davis continued. "I thought the way that we played to end the first half and the way that we started the second half was some of our best basketball."

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