UNC basketball quiets NCAA Tournament critics, raises volume in First Four debut vs San Diego State

At several points throughout the UNC basketball season, head coach Hubert Davis has described his latest group of Tar Heels as the “quietest team” he’s ever been around.

Davis has been pleading with his players to be loud in everything they do, consistently telling them they can’t be quiet if they want to experience success on the court.

The communication of that message connected with the Tar Heels, who won eight of their final 10 games before March Madness. That final surge helped UNC sneak into the NCAA Tournament bracket as the last team to secure an at-large bid.

It was a choice by the selection committee that brought controversy as the national voices around UNC grew louder about its inclusion into the bracket.

The 11th-seeded Tar Heels drowned out that noise, raising the level of their voices and play by sending a message with a 95-68 shellacking of No. 11 seed San Diego State at the First Four in Dayton.

“It’s been a real focused group,” Davis said Tuesday night before a brief pause.

“Over the last two months, their commitment to team is just continuing to grow. I talked earlier in the year about how quiet this team was and the voices – the volume of the voices – is exactly where it needs to be. Whether it’s in the huddle, on the bus, on the floor, just a real connected group right now.”

RJ Davis, Seth Trimble 'hear the noise' about UNC basketball making NCAA Tournament

Fifth-year guard RJ Davis and junior Seth Trimble heard the outside voices, but they didn’t listen. Their focus was on amplifying their voices and beating the Aztecs (21-10), something the Tar Heels (23-13) did decisively, leading by as many as 40 points in the second half.

“We know we deserve to be here. We’re not looking to send a message to anybody else,” said Trimble, who scored 10 of his 16 points in the first half to help UNC take a 24-point halftime lead.

“We’re just looking to compete as a team and be the team that we know we’re capable of being. I think we did that (against San Diego State). We’re gonna do that when we get to Milwaukee and go from there. We hear what people say. We didn’t really care about it. It is what it is, we’re focused on us.”

RJ Davis drained six of UNC’s 14 buckets from 3-point range, finishing with a game-high 26 points in the first game of his final March Madness experience. He heard the negative noise going in, but he shifted his focus.

“One thing about us: Yes, we hear the noise, but we don’t really pay attention to it. We stay within ourselves,” RJ Davis said.

“I think Coach Davis sets a good example for us. In order to play at this level, he always uses this reference that horses have blinders when they go into races. That’s to avoid any distractions that doesn’t allow them to be their best during the race. I think that reference sits well with the team. We’re just focused on what we have to do, not really paying attention to what’s being said about us.”

With the win, UNC advances to play No. 6 seed Ole Miss (22-11) in the South Region on Friday (4:05 p.m., TNT) in Milwaukee. The winner of Friday’s game will face No. 3 seed Iowa State (24-9) or No. 14 seed Lipscomb (25-9) on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16.

After making a statement with their sensational showing against San Diego State, the negative noise surrounding the Tar Heels could shift to the other direction. Either way, they’re only focusing on the voices they can control.

“I feel like we’re getting better and I feel like our confidence is growing,” Hubert Davis said. “We’re getting better. Over the last month and a half, two months, we’ve just gotten better and better. It’s coming at the right time.”

Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC basketball makes statement in NCAA Tournament win vs San Diego State

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