Davis' Scoring Binge Puts Him in Impressive UNC Company

CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina is full of rich basketball history. Any college basketball fan knows that.

The video boards at the Smith Center will remind you at every home game, from the seven National Championships to the 21 Final Fours.

And Tar Heel guard RJ Davis reminded the college basketball world of that on Monday, when he became the 18th player in school history to reach the 40 point mark with a 42-point outing in a 75-71 victory over Miami at the Smith Center.

Davis scored 56 percent of North Carolina’s 75 points, the highest percentage since George Glamack’s 45 points accounted for 59.2 percent of the Tar Heels’ points against Clemson in 1941.

The senior guard finished with 14 made field goals, including seven three pointers, the second most in a game in program history. Six other Tar Heels have connected on eight in a contest.

Davis’ performance marked the first outing of 40 points or more for a North Carolina player since Harrison Barnes reached the milestone against Clemson in the ACC Tournament in 2011.

Davis and Barnes joined Tyler Hansbrough as the only Tar Heels to eclipse the 40-point mark this century.

Glamack was the first player in UNC history to score 40 or more points in a game, while Lennie Rosenbluth did so on five separate occasions during his career from 1954-57, the most in program history.

Like Glamack, Rosenbluth’s first 40-point game came against Clemson, as he shot 15-for-23 from the floor and 15-for-24 from the free throw line in a 103-99 win on Jan. 14, 1956.

Rosenbluth’s best outing as a Tar Heel would come 11 months later in the 1956 season opener, as his 47 points and 17 rebounds powered UNC past Furman.

He recorded three 40-point games in the calendar year, and on March 7, 1957 scored an ACC Tournament record 45 points, as the Tar Heels defeated Clemson en route to their first ACC Tournament title. A few weeks later, Carolina won the national championship finishing the season 32-0, which is tied with the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers as the best record in college basketball history.

That performance by Rosenbluth came less than a week after his 40-point game against Duke helped the Tar Heels cap off a perfect 14-0 record in league play. Rosenbluth finished the season as the National Player of the Year, averaging a program record 28 points a game.

Less than 10 years later, forward Bobby Lewis would record the single-greatest scoring outing in UNC history.

Lewis and the Tar Heels squared off against Florida State on Dec. 16, 1965, when he shot 18-for-25 from the floor and 13-for-16 from the free throw line, scoring 49 points in a 115-80 win.

Maybe even more noteworthy was Lewis’ performance eight days earlier, in which he scored 43 points in a win over Richmond. It began a three-game stretch when Lewis scored 125 total points, the most in a three-game span in school history.

Lewis’ teammate Larry Miller added 32 points in the win, making their 75-point night the most points by two Tar Heels in the same game in school history.

During Lewis’ first season with the Tar Heels, another teammate in Billy Cunningham would set a then school record during his ACC Player of the Year campaign.

On Dec. 10, 1964, Cunningham scored a career-high 48 points in a win against Tulane. Cunningham recorded 21 made field goals, the most in a game in North Carolina history, in addition to pulling down 25 rebounds.

In total, 10 Tar Heels have etched their names into the record books having scored 40 or more points in a game.

Their historic performances span across nine different decades with Clemson on the other end of a 40-point outing a record five times.

Monday night’s basket-making barrage from RJ Davis puts him in rarified air, and could signal a slew of honors that are soon to come his way.

Not only did he set the Smith Center scoring record of 40, previously held by Tyler Hansbrough, he seems to have all but guaranteed his spot in the rafters alongside the North Carolina legend.

Davis is the clear front runner for the ACC Player of the Year honor, and the odds are even more in his favor after Monday, as eight of the other nine Tar Heels to reach the 40-point milestone have their jersey honored.

With an All-American season all but secured, Davis’ 40-point masterpiece was the apex of a historic season for the fourth-year guard.

1. 49: Bob Lewis vs. Florida State, Dec. 16, 1965

UNC def. Florida State 115-80

Lewis shoots 18-of-25 from the floor and 13-of-16 from the FT line

2. 48: Billy Cunningham vs. Tulane, Dec. 10, 1964

Cunningham’s 21 made field goals are the most in a game in UNC history

Cunningham finished with 25 rebounds

3. 47: Lennie Rosenbluth vs. Furman, Dec. 3, 1956

Season-opener for UNC

Rosenbluth finished 20-of-37 from the floor

Tallied 17 rebounds

T-4. 45: Lennie Rosenbluth vs. Clemson, March 7, 1957

UNC def. Clemson en route to their first ACC Tournament title

Rosenbluth’s 45 points are the most in ACC Tournament history

T-4. 45: Lennie Rosenbluth vs. William & Mary, Feb. 7, 1956

T-4. 45: Lennie Rosenbluth at Clemson, Jan. 14, 1956

UNC def. Clemson 103-99

Rosenbluth shot 15-for-23 from the floor and 15-for-24 from the FT line

T-4. 45: George Glamack vs. Clemson, Feb. 10, 1941

UNC def. Clemson 76-53

T-8. 43: Charlie Scott vs. Wake Forest, Jan. 17, 1970

One of two 40-point outings in a loss, Wake Forest def. UNC 91-90

T-8. 43: Bob Lewis vs. Richmond, Dec. 8, 1965

Began stretch of 125 points in the three games, the most in three consecutive games in UNC history

Teammate Larry Miller scored 32 points, making it the most points by two Tar Heels in the same game in school history

T-10. 42: Shammond Williams at Georgia Tech, Feb. 8, 1998

UNC def. Georgia Tech 107-100 in 2OT

Finished 8-for-11 from three-point range

Scored 12 points in double overtime

T-10. 42: RJ Davis vs. Miami, Feb. 26, 2024

Finished 14-of-22 from the field and 7-of-11 from three point range

Accounted for 56% of North Carolina’s scoring, the highest percentage since George Clamack in 1941

T-12. 41: Kenny Smith at Clemson, Jan. 28, 1987

Smith scored 27 points in the second half

UNC def. Clemson 108-99

T-12. 41: Charlie Scott vs. Virginia, March 5, 1970

Virginia def. UNC in ACC Tournament

T-14. 40: Harrison Barnes vs. Clemson, March 12, 2011

UNC def. Clemson 92-87 in ACC Tournament Semifinal

Finished 12-17 from the field

6-8 from three

10-11 from FT line

T-14. 40: Tyler Hansbrough vs. Georgia Tech, Feb. 15, 2006

Finished 13-17 from the field

14-19 from FT line

Helped UNC erase 13 point second half comeback

T-14. 40: Charlie Scott vs. Duke, March 8, 1969, in Charlotte

UNC defeated Duke 85-74 in the ACC Championship game

Scored 29 points in the second half

T-14. 40: Billy Cunningham vs. Maryland, Jan. 13, 1964

UNC def. Maryland 97-88

Cunningham also had 28 rebounds in the win

T-14. 40: Lennie Rosenbluth at Duke, March 1, 1957

UNC def. Duke to cap off perfect 14-0 record in ACC play

Rosenbluth was the National Player of the Year and set the UNC record averaging 28 points on the season