RJ Davis refuses to go home
RJ Davis was magnificent for North Carolina, and up until the last few minutes, he was the only Tar Heel to score in double-digits. UNC needed every single one of his 23 points (5/9 shooting from the floor, an outstanding 5/6 from three, and a perfect 8/8 from the free throw line).
Wake Forest tried to bother RJ Davis by putting the 6-foot-5 Hunter Sallis on him and had their posts aggressively push out on Davis when he tried to run his defender off picks. This tactic cut off effective lanes to the rim, hence all of Davis's made field goals coming from distance.
It's just as well that RJ didn't spend much time in the paint, since the referees turned that area into a mosh pit. More on that later. This kind of shot-making RJ Davis is precisely what UNC needs if they have any hope of upsetting Duke tomorrow evening, even if they play without Cooper Flagg. The Blue Devils can replace size with size, and Isaiah Evans stepped in and hit four three-pointers to help pile up 14 points.