Keeping It Heel
Fansided

Davis stars, Bacot makes history in UNC basketball win

By Nick Delahanty

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 21: R.J. Davis #4 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts after banking in a three-point basket against the North Carolina State Wolfpack during the first half of their game at the Dean E. Smith Center on January 21, 2023 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 21: R.J. Davis #4 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts after banking in a three-point basket against the North Carolina State Wolfpack during the first half of their game at the Dean E. Smith Center on January 21, 2023 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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It was an afternoon to remember for RJ Davis and Armando Bacot, as the duo led the UNC basketball program to a victory over NC State.

History.

History was made, and repeated, as the UNC basketball program defeated in-state rival NC State on Saturday afternoon in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

80. 441. Final. 69. 442

Armando Bacot broke not one, but two UNC basketball records, as he is now the program’s career leader in both double-doubles and rebounds. He put together another dominant performance against the Wolfpack, scoring 23 points while recording a game-high 18 boards.

The repeated history was the Tar Heels’ dominance over the Wolfpack. North Carolina has won 36 of the last 41 meetings, including an impressive 30-7 record at the Dean Smith Center.

For the Tar Heels, RJ Davis was the star, as his offensive production played a major role in the team’s victory. The junior guard was a perfect 14-14 from the line en route to a game-high 26 points.

The contest was not all pleasant, as the two sides began to get chippy. With under 9 minutes to play, Leaky Black was called for a foul on NC State star Trequavion Smith as he drove to the basket. Smith hit the ground hard and had to be taken off on a stretcher.

After a review of the play, the referee crew upped the foul to a Flagrant 2, ejecting Black from the game. A questionable call at best, and one that could’ve really impacted the Tar Heels, but the main focus of the matter is that we all hope Smith is okay.

A few minutes later, Caleb Love took a nasty elbow, one that caused his nose to bleed. After spending a few moments on the floor, Love got up and got into a verbal altercation with the NC State bench.

Fortunately, the Tar Heels were able to build a lead and hold onto it.

The duo of Davis and Bacot combined for 49 of the Tar Heels’ 80 points, while Love finished the night with 16 points (making 9 of his 10 free throw attempts).

This serves as a big win for the UNC basketball program, which has a tough seven-game stretch ahead of them. That stretch wraps up with a short trip to Raleigh to visit this same NC State squad on their home court.

With the win, North Carolina has now won 9 of its last 11 games and improved to 14-6 on the season. They’ll look to continue that trend this week, as they hit the road to take on Syracuse on Tuesday night.

Next. Armando Bacot tells an interesting Tyler Hansbrough story. dark

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