By R.L. Bynum FORT WORTH, Texas — Carolina can beat anybody in the country when Caleb Love and Brady Manek … More

Don’t let Coach Hubert Davis’ calm sideline demeanor. There is a lot of passion, and the first-year Carolina coach has a way of transferring that onto his team during pregame speeches. His players say that they are ready to run through a wall after those speeches. “You know you see him scowling before the games?” senior Leaky Black said. “Just imagine a pregame speech. It makes you want to run through a brick wall. That’s the message I get. I just try to go out there and play as hard as I can every time for him.”

Hubert Davis knows the pressure of an NCAA tournament game, specifically when facing a No. 1-seed, which is a situation he hopes his Carolina team faces Saturday. As a sophomore for a No. 8-seeded UNC team against a No. 1 seed in 1990, he wanted no part of taking a big shot in the final seconds.

Going to the NCAA men’s tournament is routine for North Carolina but the Tar Heels haven’t had to navigate the dreaded No. 8-seed vs. No. 9-seed matchup very often. For the second consecutive season, though, the No. 25-ranked Tar Heels (24–9) will have to deal with that assignment. This time, UNC is the No. 8 seed in the East Region, facing No. 9-seed Marquette (19–12) on Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas. Should UNC win, it would likely face No. 1-seed Baylor (26–6), which plays No. 16-seed Norfolk State. If Coach Hubert Davis’ team makes it to the second weekend, it would play in Philadelphia.

NEW YORK — There’s no doubt that this Carolina basketball season has gone better than the previous one, but the Tar Heels seem likely to be stuck in a dreaded No. 8-seed vs. No. 9-seed first-round matchup in the NCAA tournament for a second consecutive season. That winner, of course, has a No. 1 seed lurking in the second round. As a No. 8 seed in the South Region last season, an 18–11 UNC team lost to No. 9 Wisconsin in West Lafayette, Ind., in what turned out to be Coach Roy Williams’ final game. This season’s Tar Heels enter NCAA play at 24–9 and with a lot of optimism that, despite its inconsistencies, it might have enough momentum to do some damage, even if it is probably stuck in the same sort of game.

NEW YORK — Making up big deficits has never been easy for this North Carolina team and that didn’t change Friday night in an ACC Tournament semifinal. The No. 3-seed Tar Heels fell behind No. 7-seed Virginia Tech by 20 points 7½ minutes into the second half, its biggest hole since trailing by 21 in the Pittsburgh loss, and couldn’t fight back.

NEW YORK — You’d have trouble finding a coach with more love and reverence for the tradition of the ACC Tournament than Hubert Davis.
Tar Heels great Walter “Sweet D” Davis, his uncle, played in it for Carolina and won titles in 1975 and 1977. The first-year UNC head coach was part of the March tradition as a player and got plenty of experience as a UNC assistant coach at the event for nine seasons.

NEW YORK — For much of the night, it looked like Carolina’s Brady Manek could single-handedly beat Virginia. He nearly did for one half. With his teammates also playing well, it was an easy evening for the Tar Heels, who steamrolled the Cavaliers 63–43 in the last ACC Tournament quarterfinal Thursday night at the Barclays Center.

NEW YORK — That feeling of defeat. That’s how Duke center Mark Williams described the final minutes of the Blue Devils’ 94–81 loss Saturday to North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium. With Syracuse threatening to give Mike Krzyzewski a loss in his final ACC Tournament on top of the loss the coach suffered in his final home game, that feeling motivated Williams.

NEW YORK — Streaking North Carolina has the full attention of Virginia coach Tony Bennett as his Cavaliers make a quick turnaround after a 51–50 win over Louisville late Wednesday night in the second round of the ACC Tournament. No. 6-seed Virginia (19–12) gets the chance to avenge a 74–58 Jan. 8 loss to the No. 3-seed Tar Heels (23–8) in the quarterfinals Thursday night at 9:30 (ESPN) at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

NEW YORK — Hubert Davis wasn’t focused on the hype before Carolina’s big upset at Duke on Saturday and that didn’t change in the aftermath of the game. It was all about Coach Mike Krzyzewski in the days before the game and much of the talk afterward was about the historic aspects of the Tar Heels ruining his final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. But Davis focused on the big picture throughout, and where his No. 3-seed and No. 18-ranked Tar Heels are heading into the ACC Tournament. He loves how RJ Davis has become a huge floor leader and Caleb Love has become a dependable finisher, among many other improved areas.

Current Carolina players are exposed to much more information about opponents than they got in the days when Coach Hubert Davis was playing for the legendary Dean Smith. While Davis believes and follows the reasoning behind that approach, he gives players more insights on player tendencies than Smith did.