SYRACUSE, NY – Hubert Davis outlined the many positives he sees from his team when veteran forward Jae’Lyn Withers logs quality minutes.

This, of course, is coming off Withers’ best performance in a North Carolina uniform when he scored 19 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots in an 88-82 win at Syracuse on Saturday.

Withers was a huge factor in the Tar Heels (15-11, 8-6 ACC) getting their first road win in five weeks and his production might prompt Davis to play a bigger lineup moving forward. The small one that included four guards starting wasn’t quite working out, so out of necessity, the coach says, he went big the last two games, though with mixed results.

Withers started the 20-point loss at Clemson last Monday scoring 5 points with 3 rebounds in 17 minutes of action. He played 24 minutes at JMA Wireless Dome before fouling out late in the contest.

Yet, in UNC’s eight games prior to last week at Littlejohn Coliseum, Withers played 6 minutes or less four times and averaged only 7 minutes per contest. A sixth-year player who started earlier this season and a lot when he was at Louisville might struggle closing his college career mostly sitting on the bench. But Withers heeded his coaches’ advice.

“I think it’s great,” Hubert Davis said when asked about Withers’ perseverance. “You know, I’ve said a number of times to you guys and the guys that you don’t know when, where, how and the manner in which your number is going to be called, but everybody’s going to get opportunities, and your job and responsibility is when your number is called is to be prepared and be ready.

“And JWit was prepared and he was ready.”

Withers felt ready going into the Syracuse game, even though he nearly didn’t play because of a scratched right eye that occurred in practice the day before.

He acknowledges the personal and team struggles, choosing to speak more broadly about the team and the shared frustration right on down to the trainers and managers. But also, the confidence he has in himself and how everyone in that room has infused him with the right mindset to contribute.

“I would say it’s just a mindset of everybody telling me to shoot it,” Withers said standing outside the locker room in snowy Syracuse. “The coaching staff instill confidence, the players instill confidence and just being aggressive and letting go when I get open.”

Maybe they sensed something, that perhaps the Tar Heels might be a tad bit better off with Withers logging noteworthy minutes as opposed to barely playing. What do the numbers suggest?

First, he has played 14 or more minutes in 13 of Carolina’s 26 games thus far. The records are 8-5 when he plays at least that much versus 7-6 when he doesn’t. The losses when he does: at Kansas by 3; by 13 against Auburn on a neutral court; by 3 in overtime to Michigan State on a neutral floor; by 13 at Louisville; and by 20 at Clemson.

All five of those teams are ranked this week and carry a combined record of 101-26.

Now, the losses when he doesn’t: Home against Alabama by 15; Florida by 6 on a neutral floor; Stanford at home by 1; at Wake Forest by 1; at Pittsburgh by 8; and at Duke by 17. Those six teams are a combined 115-37.

Statistically, what is the Withers effect?

He averaged 23.4 minutes through UNC’s first seven games scoring 7.3 points with 5.9 rebounds. He shot 42.9% from the field and 42.9% (6-for-14) from 3-point range in that span.

Since then, he has played 14 or more minutes six times with averages of 17.1 minutes, 7 points, 4.5 rebounds, he’s shot 16-for-29 (55.2%) from the field, including 5-for-11 (45.4%) from three.

Can anything be concluded looking at those numbers? Withers has played more against better teams probably because those clubs have size and Davis wanted a bigger four on the floor. But, nothing else is that discernable.

Perhaps the last performance is the most responsible takeaway, but that could change when the Heels face a smaller NC State team Wednesday night at the Smith Center. Then again, maybe Davis rolls big from this point on.

“From an offensive standpoint, he hit threes, he finished around the basket, rebounded the basketball,” Davis said Monday. “That was huge. But I think the biggest impact for him is the size that we had at the four, where we didn't have to double team the four, either.”