It's back to the drawing board for North Carolina and Hubert Davis. In Saturday's blowout loss to Duke in Durham, the Tar Heels hung tough for the first half, but then the wheels fully fell off in the second half. Davis and his coaches were not happy - the effort was not good enough.
Henri Veesaar provided a blunt response to UNC's second-half effort against Duke
The Tar Heels need to quickly flush this loss and keep pushing forward, but the defeat at Cameron Indoor Stadium also needs to serve as a major wakeup call. Senior guard Seth Trimble made that much clear, as he shared what Davis told the locker room not long after the final whistle. Will the UNC playmakers answer the call here?
Seth Trimble on Hubert Davis’ message after tonight’s 15 point loss at Duke:
— Travon Miles (@TrayABC11) March 8, 2026
“That we have a chance to do some big things in March and April, but it’s hard, you know. We have to buy in. And we can't buy it for some parts of the game like we did today.” pic.twitter.com/y81xRISlXA
Hubert Davis didn't mince words with his postgame UNC message after the Duke loss
So, will the Tar Heels end up buying in as a whole? In that loss to the No. 1 Blue Devils, what was so disappointing was that UNC looked fantastic in the first half. Despite trailing 39-34, North Carolina showcased that it could hang close with Duke despite Caleb Wilson being on the bench.
Wilson is out for the rest of the season due to his broken thumb, but that doesn't mean this team is going to pack things up and call it good for 2025-26. Throughout this campaign, the Heels have spent a large chunk of the season with either Trimble, Wilson or Veesaar injured.
There have been some ups and downs, sure, but the Tar Heels have punched back when getting hit in the mouth. That wasn't showcased late vs. the Blue Devils, which Davis isn't going to tolerate. Yup, that second-half performance had him and fans quite ticked off.
With the ACC Tournament starting up this week, North Carolina has a double-bye and next up is the quarterfinals. With a win, another showdown with Duke could be on the way. Duke is also dealing with injury concerns, as Caleb Foster isn't expected to be back until the NCAA Tournament. Getting another shot at Jon Scheyer and his players would be great, but nothing good will happen unless UNC does what Davis asks of his locker room. The buy in simply has to be there.