CHAPEL HILL – With semester exams finishing up and the Tar Heels off until Saturday when LaSalle visits the Smith Center, Hubert Davis is hitting a bit of a reset button this week.

A full seven days to step away, focus on something outside of basketball, then regroup as a team comes at a needed time for North Carolina, as it’s coming off a three-point win over struggling Georgia Tech after losing three consecutive games.

On the surface, the Tar Heels have not played well for more than two weeks. Underneath the surface, Davis and his staff are searching for answers on a roster that appears increasingly limited each time the Heels take the floor. They'd like to reverse that trend.

“I think it's the perfect chance for us, when I say a chance for us to heal, that's what I'm talking about,” Davis said following the win over the Yellow Jackets. “A chance for us to take a deep breath and practice.”

Carolina played four games in six days in Hawaii, plus two full days of travel to and from, so the Tar Heels basically went a little more than a week without working on themselves. High-end opponents on the docket exposing the team’s many ills have sapped the team of some confidence and vitality. The evidence in their play has stood out.

“It (was) a lot of preparation as opposed to practicing,” Davis said, noting prepping for four games on the islands plus coming home to face Alabama with exams underway. “And so having a week off will give us a chance to practice before we prepare for the sound. I think it's exactly what this team needs."

Sitting at 5-4 overall and 1-0 in the ACC, the check list for Davis and the Heels this week is quite extensive, in the coach’s own words.

A follow-up question Saturday when his comment about needing to practice was what priority number one is, only Davis didn’t offer up just one thing. He said a lot.

"There's a lot on that line…,” he responded. “Obviously, the turnovers, we got to get back our flow offensively. We were really good in terms of our pace, and I feel like our pace has slowed down at times. And so we got to get that from an offensive standpoint, our flow and our pace back, and then we just have to find a way to be able to get to the free throw line. At the beginning of the year, our ability to be able to get to the free throw line was really good.

"Lately we've struggled with that. And we're not shooting the ball well from outside. Just how can we generate really good open looks for our guys and give them the confidence to be able to step up and knock down those shots? Because again, having 18 turnovers and shooting 5-for-24 (from 3-point range), that's just not sustainable and so we've got to get better in those areas."

As Davis finished his question, he said, “long list” while nodding.

It is a long list and it’s a vitally important list. The Tar Heels must find themselves quickly, or they could face an uphill struggle building an NCAA Tournament-worthy resume, much less simply improving.

Some notes to support all that Davis wants to work on:

*In the last four games, Carolina has shot 43.4% from the floor, including 29.7% from 3-point range, and 68.8% from the free throw line.

*In the last five games, UNC has handed out 57 assists while turning over the ball 67 times.

*Seven times out of 18 halves an opponent has shot 50% or better.

*Prior to Georgia Tech hitting just 20 shots from the field, the previous four opponents made 130 on 275 attempts, which is 47.3%, including 36.9% from the perimeter.

*In the last five games, Tar Heels taller than 6-foot-6 have combined to play 296 minutes totaling 80 points while shooting 28-for-59 (47.5%) from the floor, including 1-for-15 from 3-point range, plus 25-for-36 (69.4%) from the free throw line, and with 81 rebounds.

---The per-game averages: 59.2 minutes; 16 points; 5.6-for-11.8 field goals; .20-for-5 from three; 5-for-7.2 from the FT line; and 16.2 rebounds.

*Per player:

---Washington: 85 minutes; 14 points, 7-for-20 FGs, 0-for-5 from three; 2-for-7 FTs; 23 rebounds.

---Lubin: 76 minutes; 33 points; 12-for-15 FGs; 8-for-11 FTs; 25 rebounds.

---Withers: 98 minutes; 25 points; 6-for-19 FGs; 1-for-8 from three; 12-for-15 FTs; 21 rebounds.

---Tyson: 20 minutes; 0-for-2 FGs; 0-for-2 from three; 2-for-2 FTs; 3 rebounds.

---Claude: 13 minutes; 6 points; 3-for-3 FGs; 3-for-3 FTs; 8 rebounds.

---Brown: 4 minutes; 1 rebound.