Why Davis Satisfied with North Carolina's Performance Wednesday

The North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 91-69 on Wednesday night at the Dean E. Smith Center, snapping a two-game losing streak.

While speaking with the media during his postgame press conference, head coach Hubert Davis highlighted the team's performance and what it meant to him and the players.

Davis' Thoughts

Jan 21, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis with guard Derek Dixon (3) in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

"Very satisfied. At halftime, I told them and throughout the first half that we got an eight- or nine-point lead. Let's extend it," Davis said. "Let's put consecutive good possessions together. I was encouraged at halftime. We didn't extend it, but we didn't blow it. And I said, okay, let's take another step. Let's get off to a good start. First four minutes of the game, let's raise our level even more, but just getting started."

"And we started off on an 8–0 run and we just continued it throughout the second half," Davis continued. "And so that's something that we hadn't done in a while. And I was very proud and very happy for them."

There was an extra sense of urgency, as the Tar Heels had lost three of their last four games. The 55-year-old head coach revealed the communication in practices and team meetings.

Jan 21, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Jarin Stevenson (15) and forward Caleb Wilson (8) and forward Jonathan Powell (11) react in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

"The way that I communicate with them since the first time they came together in June, I've always talked about sense of urgency," Davis said. "I'm somebody that in practice, any shootaround, any game, it's an opportunity to get better and it's live. But I was really proud of them tonight. We had two really good practices."

"Another thing that I was happy with was just the chatter in the huddles during timeouts, multiple people talking," Davis continued. "I love that. I encourage that. I love conversations. I love having those conversations throughout a game and I encourage those guys to speak up. A number of people were speaking up and saying good things about let's get stops, let's continue to box out, we've got to talk on defense, that was a good shot, we've got to get back to getting the ball inside, share the ball. That's one of the things that I was really happy about."

Jan 21, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Jaydon Young (4) and guard Derek Dixon (3) react in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Although it came against a reeling opponent, North Carolina produced an impressive outing, and Davis wants his players to be proud of how they played.

"I agree. I encourage the team every time that we win to enjoy winning," Davis said. "It's very difficult to win, especially in conference in the ACC, and that should be celebrated. Tomorrow we'll start our preparation and practice for Virginia. This is the first time with this group, and we have 11 new players. We're learning, we're growing, we're getting better, and we're looking forward to practice and preparation to play a really good Virginia team."

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