By R.L. Bynum

CHAPEL HILL — You might say that the finger that’s on the pulse of what makes Carolina’s offense go is RJ Davis’ right index finger.

After he dislocated that finger on his shooting hand early in the season, he struggled to find his shooting stroke, and the team’s struggles followed. Davis shot under 40% seven times in November and December, with the Tar Heels going 3–4 in those games. When he shoots at least 40% this season, Carolina is 12–2.

Carolina (15–7, 7–4 ACC) could use more of the at 6:30 Saturday (ESPN) when the Tar Heels visit Duke (16–6, 7–4).

“It’s definitely a hassle just dealing with it,” Davis said. “It’s an injury on my shooting hand, shooting finger, where I’m trying to get a feel for the ball, so I kind of played through it and then it got better.”

When he reinjured it again at Syracuse, a game that was like a prizefight for him with the beatings he absorbed, that meant there was tape around that finger for Wednesday’s Pittsburgh game.

“I had re-dislocated it in the ’Cuse game, so it was a little bit sore and I’m working through it,” Davis said.

The results weren’t good.

After shooting 52.7% from the floor (39 of 74) and 52.8% (19 of 36) from 3-point range in the previous seven games, Davis shot a season-low 20.0% (3 of 15) from the floor and missed all six 3-point attempts (his previous worst was 0 of 4 at Virginia Tech.

That was the first time Davis had shot less than 40% since shooting 36.4% in the Dec. 30 loss at Pittsburgh and only the second time since shooting 33.3% on Dec. 13 against The Citadel.

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“I’m just working through it, to see how I feel without the tape and we’ll progress from there.”

The finger was just one of the issues that came out of the Syracuse game, when he also got a black eye taking a late charge. He had to go through concussion protocols. There are probably boxers who lose fights that come out of them in better shape that Davis after that Jan. 24 game.

Had there been a Carolina game scheduled for the following Saturday, Davis said he definitely wouldn’t have played.

“I got a hit to the eye and went through some protocols just to make sure I’m good,” Davis said. “I sat out just to get back recovery-wise, making sure I feel good enough leading up to the next week. Went through the protocols, passed the testing and did some individual workouts just to get my legs back and get a feel for it energy-wise.”

Even an average shooting game for Davis against Pittsburgh would have made a huge difference. It possibly would have helped open up the inside, where the Panthers were sagging back and double-teaming Armando Bacot.

“We all know our capabilities and potential as individual players and that’s getting the ball inside to Mondo or we also penetrate, get the ball to the basket,” Davis said. “We’re all talented downhill type of players where we can create for ourselves or free for others. So I think that’s what I’m gonna have to do.”

In addition to RJ Davis improving, there was other good injury news, with word from Coach Hubert Davis that Puff Johnson practiced Thursday. He should be able to play after missing the last three games with a sore right knee.

UNC statistics

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ACC standings

Team	League	Overall
No. 16 Miami	15–5	24–6
No. 13 Virginia	15–5	23–6
Duke	14–6	23–8
Clemson	14–6	22–9
No. 25 Pittsburgh	14–6	21–10
N.C. State	12–8	22–9
North Carolina	11–9	19–12
Syracuse	10–10	17–14
Wake Forest	10–10	18–13
Boston College	9–11	15–16
Virginia Tech	8–12	18–13
Florida State	7–13	9–22
Georgia Tech	6–14	14–17
Notre Dame	3–17	11–20
Louisville	2–18	4–27

Saturday’s games
Duke 62, North Carolina 57
No. 13 Virginia 75, Louisville 60
Georgia Tech 73, Boston College 65
Virginia Tech 82, Florida State 60
Syracuse 72, Wake Forest 63
No. 26 Miami 78, No. 25 Pittsburgh 76
Clemson 87, Notre Dame 64
End of regular season

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Date	Month/day	Time/score	Opponent/event (current ranking)	Location	Record
	October
28	Friday	W, 101–40	Johnson C. Smith	Home	Exhibition
	November
7	Monday	W, 69–56	UNCW	Home	1–0
11	Friday	W, 102–86	College of Charleston	Home	2–0
15	Tuesday	W, 72–66	Gardner-Webb	Home	3–0
20	Sunday	W, 80–64	James Madison	Home	4–0
			Phil Knight Invitational
24	Thursday	W, 89–81	First round: Portland	Portland	5–0
25	Friday	L, 70–65	Semifinals: Iowa State	Portland	5–1
27	Sunday	L, 103–101, 4 OTs	Consolation: No. 1 Alabama	Portland	5–2
			ACC/Big Ten Challenge
30	Wednesday	L, 77–65	No. 21 Indiana	Bloomington, Ind.	5–3
	December
4	Sunday	L, 80–72	Virginia Tech	Blacksburg, Va.	5–4, 0–1 ACC
10	Saturday	W, 75–59	Georgia Tech	Home	6–4, 1–1 ACC
13	Tuesday	W, 100–67	The Citadel	Home	7–4
			CBS Sports Classic
17	Saturday	W, 89–84, OT	Ohio State	New York	8–4
			Jumpman Invitational
21	Wednesday	W, 80–76	Michigan	Charlotte	9–4
30	Friday	L, 76–74	Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh	9–5, 1–2 ACC
	January
4	Wednesday	W, 88–79	Wake Forest	Home	10–5, 2–2 ACC
7	Saturday	W, 81–64	Notre Dame	Home	11–5, 3–2 ACC
10	Tuesday	L, 65–58	No. 14 Virginia	Charlottesville	11–6, 3–3 ACC
14	Saturday	W, 80–59	Louisville	Louisville, Ky.	12–6, 4–3 ACC
17	Tuesday	W, 72–64	Boston College	Home	13–6, 5–3 ACC
21	Saturday	W, 80–69	N.C. State	Home	14–6, 6–3 ACC
24	Tuesday	W, 72–68	Syracuse	Syracuse, N.Y.	15–6, 7–3 ACC
	February
1	Wednesday	L, 65–64	Pittsburgh	Home	15–7, 7–4 ACC
4	Saturday	L, 63–57	No. 12 Duke	Durham	15–8, 7–5 ACC
7	Tuesday	L, 92–85	Wake Forest	Winston-Salem	15–9, 7–6 ACC
11	Saturday	W, 91–71	Clemson	Home	16–9, 8–6 ACC
13	Monday	L, 80–72	No. 16 Miami	Home	16–10, 8–7 ACC
19	Sunday	L, 77–69	N.C. State	Raleigh	16–11, 8–8 ACC
22	Wednesday	W, 63–59	Notre Dame	South Bend, Ind.	17–11, 9–8 ACC
25	Saturday	W, 71–63	No. 14 Virginia	Home	18–11, 10–8 ACC
27	Monday	W, 77–66	Florida State	Tallahassee, Fla.	19–11, 11–8 ACC
	March
4	Saturday	L, 62–57	No. 12 Duke	Home	19–12, 11–9 ACC
			ACC tournament
8	Wednesday	W, 85–61	Boston College	Greensboro	20–12
9	Thursday	L, 68–59	No. 14 Virginia	Greensboro	20–13

Photo via @UNC_Basketball