1/26/2023 basketball Edit

Break Comes At A Good Time For Heels

UNC doesn't play again until February 1, a beak Coach Hubert Davis says comes at the right time for his team. (USA Today)

Andrew Jones • TarHeelIllustrated

Publisher

Andrew Jones has covered sports for 26 years, including all major college & professional sports for daily newspapers & national sites. He's done radio and TV & is entering his seventh year at THI.

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SYRACUSE, NY – North Carolina needs a break, so the schedule opening for eight days comes at a good time for the Tar Heels.

UNC edged Syracuse, 72-68, at JMA Wireless Dome on Tuesday night in a heated affair that left junior point guard RJ Davis battered and his team exhausted. Carolina has been through an emotional stretch, with Armando Bacot making history, contested and physical games versus rival NC State and other teams, and the stress of the public pouncing on the Tar Heels.

But they go into this break having won four consecutive games and ten of their last 12. The losses: a narrow one at Virginia in which they led most of the way even though Bacot played only 78 seconds and Pete Nance didn’t play at all; the other loss was a blown late lead at resurgent Pittsburgh.

Otherwise, Carolina has won games in various ways, adding a layer or two each step along the way. Now, they get a break, as the Heels don’t play again until a rematch with Pitt on February 1 at the Smith Center.

"It does,” UNC Coach Hubert Davis said, acknowledging the grind of the last month. “I think this stretch, it's been a lot.”

The Heels (15-6, 7-3 ACC) haven’t had more than four full days in between games since well before Christmas, if one factors the team’s time away for the holiday. Thus, they didn’t get any them-time work then, and haven’t really since just after final exams.

The Tar Heels don't play again until February 1 when Pittsburgh visits the Smith Center. (USA Today)

So, Davis is looking forward to peeling the onion some.

“I think this time, this week off, is good for two things,” he said. “One, to be able to catch our breath and be able to heal our bodies and be able to rest. Number two, we’ll have an opportunity to work on us.

“I felt like over the last month and a half every one of our practices has been in preparation, like for a scout, for an opponent. So, you're working on yourself, but you're working on yourself in regards to the team that you're playing against. Now, we've got some time to work on us and get some rest.”

A tricky element to having an open date on the schedule is the possibility the Heels, like any other team playing well, might lose some of their mojo. Carolina has made progress each time out since its four-game losing streak set the public narrative on who it is as a team.

Yet, the truth is more in who the Heels have been in recent weeks, and more importantly, who they are moving forward and into March. These next several days are a crucial time to adjust, fine-tune, and alter.

“My hope is this week we can get better, we can get healthier, we can get rested, and then be ready to go next week to start conference play again,” Davis said.

The Tar Heels are halfway through ACC play, so once they resume play, 10 conference games over a 32-day span mark the schedule. Then the ACC Tournament, and then the NCAA Tournament.