UNC Coach Hubert Davis Previews Primetime Matchup with Kansas

North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis spoke to the media before their primetime matchup against Kansas on Friday night.

The Tar Heels are coming off a dominant 94-54 win over Central Arkansas, while the Jayhawks opened their season with a 94-51 victory against Green Bay. Kansas leads the all-time series 7-6 and has won the last five meetings, including last year’s 92-89 win in Lawrence and a 72-69 victory in the 2022 national championship game in New Orleans.

The video of the full presser is down below along with some key things he said about the matchup.

On the uniqueness of Darryn Peterson…

Obviously he's gifted, but just his ability to be impactful and dominant on both ends of the floor. I mean, obviously, he can score is a four-level score. Shoot from three mid-range, get to the bucket, get fouled, get to the free-throw line. I've also been impressed, just from a defensive standpoint, you know, his ability to get steals and deflections, rebound the basketball, and so he's more than just a score. He's a complete basketball player, and obviously, he's playing at an extremely high level with tremendous confidence.

On the excitement of having a big-time game like this I October...

UNC — Kansas Jayhawks forward KJ Adams Jr. (24) shoots for two against North Carolina Tar Heels guard Drake Powell (9) in the first half of the game inside Allen Fieldhouse Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. | Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

I mean, it was, you know, it was significant for us to play at Kansas last year, you know, and for them to come here early in the season. There's a lot of excitement, and there's also a lot of history between both of our programs, and so I think that adds to it and adds to the excitement. And I know they're fired up, and we were fired up as well.

On the ball movement against Central Arkansas…

Yeah, you know, that's one of the many things that I was really encouraged about against Central Arkansas, was just our ability to share the basketball I felt, you know, consistently, we were passing up good shots to get great shots. I felt like in some instances, we were even overpassing. I mentioned before, we all laughed about the double lob, you know, and that's something that I had never seen before. But just instinctively, and this is something that we've talked about, is that just making that extra pass, move the ball, share the ball, and it was nice to see everybody do that this past Monday.

On the takeaways from last year’s game against Kansas…

UNC — Nov 3, 2025; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Tre White (3) shoots against Green Bay Phoenix guard Mac Wrecke (4) during the second half at Allen Fieldhouse. | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Not necessarily in terms of schemes, but, you know, I do remember we're up four or three minutes ago. You know, one of the things that we talk about as a team is discipline and details, little things make big things happen.

And you know, down the stretch, you just got to be tight defensively, getting stops rebounds. We didn't stop them down the stretch, we gave up an offensive rebound and just execution on the offensive end, taking care of the basketball, getting the right shots, getting the right shots by the right guys. And not that we would have won, but just a missed opportunity last year.

On how Kansas is more than just Darryn Peterson…

UNC — Mar 21, 2025; Milwaukee, WI, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis during the first half of a first round NCAA men’s tournament game against the Mississippi Rebels at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Yeah, you know, one of the, you know, the great things about Kansas is Kansas is Kansas there. It's like North Carolina. It's not just about one person. And the reason why that they're a good team is because they have a collection of a number of really good players, and so it's never a one-on-one situation or battle. We have to do a great job defensively. We've got to get stops. We've got to finish those stops with the rebound, and then that allows to get out of transition.

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