Ahead of the SEC/ACC Challenge bout between the No. 20-ranked Tar Heels (4-3, 0-0 ACC) and the visiting No. 10 Alabama Crimson Tide (6-2, 0-0 SEC) at 7:15 p.m. ET Wednesday (ESPN), fourth-year UNC basketball head coach Hubert Davis addressed the media on Monday to preview the showdown, a rematch from last season’s Sweet 16 victory by the Crimson Tide.
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Of course, Davis also spent considerable time dissecting what went wrong for his squad at last week’s Maui Invitational.
Across UNC’s 1-2 stretch at the event, including back-to-back losses to the now-No. 2 Auburn Tigers and unranked Michigan State Spartans, the Tar Heels encountered significant damage to what had been relatively impressive season stats. So, during his pre-Alabama press conference, Davis touched on the primary areas sorely needing a boost:
“From a defensive standpoint, the six halves in Maui, three of the six we’ve allowed teams to shoot over 50 percent from the field. That’s not where we want to be.
“In the three games in Maui, teams were averaging 90 points per game. That’s not good for us. That’s not where we want to be.
“Rebounding the basketball, in the three games in Maui, we were a minus-four. That’s definitely not where we need to be. We’ve got to do a better job of getting to the offensive glass.
“And prior to Maui, I think we were No. 1 in the country in terms of fewest turnovers. And in the three games in Maui, we averaged more turnovers than assists…and a lot of points off turnovers.
“So, I’ve been clear and direct with the guys. Those are the three categories I look at every day for this team. And those are the three categories that have to be good for us to be good. And those are three reasons why we weren’t as successful as we wanted to be out in Maui.”
When hosting Nate Oats’ Alabama Crimson Tide, the UNC basketball program will aim to avoid its first three-game losing streak since early February 2023.
ALSO READ: NCAA NET Rankings Prove Quite Unkind to Tar Heels
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