UNC Coach Hubert Davis Was Fired Up At Halftime vs. Michigan State

24/03/2024 01:48

The North Carolina Tar Heels started slow on Saturday against Michigan State, but an impressive run put them in the lead before halftime.

Despite the turnaround, Hubert Davis wasn't pleased with what he was seeing from his team in the first half.

Before walking to the locker room with his team, Davis was animated in his halftime interview with CBS Sports' Allie LaForce.

"They're tougher! They're catching the ball right underneath the basket," Davis said about Michigan State in the first half.

"Until we meet the fight, that's when things will turn around."

It's safe to say that Davis was likely in a similar mood while addressing his team in the locker room, and they've come out of the break with a greater sense of urgency on the defensive end.

The Tar Heels have often won games with their offensive talent this season, but they're going to have to dig deep on the defensive end if they want to take down this scrappy Michigan State team.

The Tar Heels are looking to make it to the Sweet Sixteen once again, a round in the tournament that they're very familiar with. 

UNC is tied for the second-most Sweet Sixteen appearances of all time with UCLA, as both schools have reached the round 35 times. 

Kentucky, who lost in the first round this year, has been to the Sweet Sixteen a record 44 times.

Davis has been able to earn wins over some legendary coaches in his short tenure with North Carolina, and he's going to need to do it again by knocking Tom Izzo out of the tournament.

Michigan State isn't the team that many expected them to be at the start of the season, but we've seen Tom Izzo's teams do great things in the tournament seemingly every year, regardless of their seeding.

We saw one matchup of perennial powers in Gonzaga-Kansas on Saturday, and it appears we're getting an even better game with Michigan State-North Carolina.