How does a team that hasn’t done it much in recent years go from 14 points down in the second half to 14 up, sealing an important 78-70 victory in its ACC opener?
By turning to a three-guard small lineup and a full-court press, which the Tar Heels also haven’t done much since Hubert Davis became the head coach.
The Seminoles extended a six-point lead at halftime to complete a 13-0 run of their own. It was the third time Carolina fell behind at the break this season and the third time the Heels came back to win.
They still trailed by 9 points when Davis replaced freshman starter Elliot Cadeau with 6-3 sub Seth Trimble; when Cadeau returned four minutes later, Trimble stayed in as the Heels unleashed a full-court press that outscored Florida State 14-zip and took back a game that had looked lost.
The tenacity of R.J. Davis, Cadeau and Trimble keyed a dramatic 22-0 run from being down, 45-31, to their own commanding lead against athletic FSU whose biggest flaw, conveniently, is not having a true point guard. The last time UNC scored 22 straight points was at the 2021 ACC tournament against Notre Dame, which had Cormac Ryan two years before he transferred to play in Chapel Hill.
The Tar Heels, who are a little nimbler and seem much smarter than last season, picked up full court and forced the Noles into turnovers or hurried shots as a capacity crowd almost blew the Teflon roof off the Dean Dome. Carolina had to hang on as FSU cut the deficit to six with two minutes to play on a basket by redshirt junior Jamir Watkins, who finished with 17 points and 8 rebounds.
Coach Davis said the small lineup was essential to disrupt an opponent that forced seven lead-changes and four ties in the first half. He also commended the fans who are far from the woebegone “cheese and wine” crowd coined by long-ago Seminoles star Sam Cassell after a 12-point upset win in 1991. Over the last 30 years, the fans gradually turned into a light blue bunch of screaming meemies.
And it came without two-year “arena host” B Daht, who was apparently fired for tweeting critical coaching comments during the Battle 4 Atlantis. The now-electric enthusiasts did just fine on their own and earned effusive praise from Coach Davis after moving to 7-1 for the first time since starting 10-1 in 2017 (before losing to Wofford, strange but true).
The Heels went ahead for the first time in the second half on a layup by the exciting Cadeau with 7:20 left in the game. Their largest lead of the game grew to 70-56 with 4:35 remaining, completing a 28-point swing after trailing by 14.
The unsung and grossly underrated R.J. Davis scored 27 points, his third straight game with at least that many and fourth straight with 23 or more. Davis is the 10th Tar Heel to score 27 points in three straight games and fifth since 1970.
According to UNC’s stat master Jody Zeugner, the 27-point trifecta ties George Glamack (1941), Lenny Rosenbluth (three separate times in 1957, once in 1956, and once in 1955), Pete Brennan (1958), Billy Cunningham (three separate times in 1964 and once in 1963), Bobby Lewis (1965-66), Charlie Scott (1970), Phil Ford (1978), Brad Daugherty (1986), and Joseph Forte in 2001.
All the above have their jersey numbers hanging in the rafters, and Glamack, Rosenbluth and Ford have theirs retired for being national champions or national players of the year. If the voters start paying attention to the rock-solid R.J., he has a chance to win a player of the year award — if not an NCAA title.
UNC senior guard R.J. Davis plays defense against Florida State’s Darin Green Jr. in their game on December 2, 2023.
While leading the Tar Heels in scoring the last four games, Davis rang up 84 points in the last three games and 107 points in the last four (23 vs. Villanova, 30 vs. Arkansas, 27 vs. Tennessee, and 27 vs. Florida State). He is the first Tar Heel to do so since teammate Armando Bacot in the 2021-22 season. Davis has led UNC in scoring in five of the eight games this season and 24 times as a Tar Heel. Carolina is 4-1 this season and 15-9 overall when R.J. is the Tar Heels’ leading scorer.
The senior guard has also made 27 free throws in a row, his second-longest streak, having made 37 straight free throws beginning with the last five games in 2021-22 until the fourth game of the 2022-23 season. He had a game-high and season-high five assists against FSU. UNC is 20-4 in Davis’ career when he has five or more assists.
Hopefully, Bacot is out of the Bahamas blues with his second straight double double (13 and 13), extending his school record to 72 and had his 80th game at Carolina with 10 or more rebounds. AB’s dunk with 4:57 left gave him 13 points and the Heels a 13-point lead, causing FSU coach Leonard Hamilton to call his fourth, and final, timeout with still five minutes to play. Bacot also made all five of his free throws to raise his seasonal percentage to 85 percent (39 of 46). His 722 career attempts are the third most in UNC history.
Sophomore Trimble — who strengthened his body and game in the off-season — contributed 9 points, made all three of his shots from the floor and went 3-of-4 from the line. During his 14 minutes on the court, the team outscored FSU by 24 points after he came in at plus-22, which will surely earn him more playing time as Carolina’s best on-the-ball defender.
Demonstrating the Tar Heels’ new-found resolve, they trailed for more than 19 minutes of the game (longest of the season) and did not let the Seminoles 13-point run to end the first half and start the second deter them.
It is one of many positive signs for a team whose only loss of the season was in overtime to Villanova. The Heels are likely to be in the top 10 going into Tuesday night’s date with fifth-ranked and defending national champion UConn at Madison Square Garden — perhaps their toughest game of a rigorous schedule.
Featured photo via Todd Melet.
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