Tag: North Carolina Tar Heels Basketball

There’s no question that the flagrant 2 call on UNC forward Brady Manek changed the momentum of Saturday’s game against No. 1 Baylor. After Manek went out, Baylor went on a large run to come back from 25 down and force overtime.

Thankfully for UNC, and probably college basketball, the Tar Heels pulled it out or we’d be talking about that call for years down the line. On Monday, head coach Hubert Davis revisited that call as Manek threw an elbow to Baylor freshman Jeremy Sochan and he adamantly disagreed with the referee’s decision.

Here is what Davis said about the call in his weekly radio show via Inside Carolina:

“I wasn’t pleased, wasn’t happy and I don’t agree with the Flagrant 2 foul,” Davis said. “Brady should not have been ejected. It should have been a Flagrant 1 foul. It was very physical, very chippy throughout the entire game. I think a Flagrant 2 foul is something that should be delivered when someone purposely intends to throw an elbow and Brady didn’t do that. It was a natural play where his elbow got up and hit the Baylor player but it wasn’t intended to do that. I told the ref that Brady’s not that type of player. I was very upset and I disagreed with that call. I think it’s interesting that the ref that called the Flagrant 2 on Brady also called a Flagrant 2 on Brady while he was at Oklahoma. I think that’s interesting. It changed the game completely. I’m not sure if that would have been the call had it been a closer game.”

As you can tell, Davis was clearly not happy with the call and thought it shouldn’t have been a flagrant 2 which resulted in the ejection.

The good news is that UNC still won the game and will be playing in the Sweet 16. And they are going to need Manek to be on his game to beat UCLA.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01fvdcv0v20j1dne5g player_id=none image=https://tarheelswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

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The North Carolina Tar Heels were able to build a 25-point lead before eventually holding off a Baylor run that sent the game to overtime. And a big reason why they jumped on the Bears early was due to the play of guard R.J. Davis and forward Brady Manek.

Davis scored the Tar Heels’ first 8 points of the game and continued his hot shooting in the first half as UNC had a 13-point lead at the break.

The sophomore guard finished the game with 30 points on 8 of 17 shooting including draining 5 three-pointers. His and-one play late in overtime helped seal things for the Tar Heels. And in the process, he made some history.

Davis became the first UNC player to score 30 points against a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament since the legend Al Wood did so against Virginia in 1981. The 30 points were crucial in UNC’s win that advanced them to the Sweet 16.

R.J. Davis is the 2nd North Carolina player with 30 points in a game against a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament since seeding began in 1979.

The only other Tar Heel to accomplish the feat was Al Wood in 1981 (National Semifinals against Virginia). pic.twitter.com/GyNDdsvdiO

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 19, 2022

The sophomore has taken a big step forward in his game since his freshman season and is developing into more than just a traditional point guard. He’s proving that he can score and do so at an elite level.

Davis has been fantastic this year and with him likely returning for another season, he could get even better and be a bigger weapon for the Tar Heels next season.

Next up, UNC will get the winner of Saint Mary’s and UCLA in the Sweet 16. 

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The North Carolina Tar Heels are off to the Sweet 16 after a big 93-86 OT win over No. 1 Baylor to shake up the East Region even more on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, UNC is off to their 30th Sweet 16 and do so in impressive fashion for the most part. They jumped out to a 25-point lead in the second half but had to hold on in Overtime to survive and get the win. But atlas, UNC has gone from a bubble team to one of the 16 left standing in the big dance.

Following the win, thousands took to Twitter to celebrate the win and it felt like the entire country had criticism of the refs. But we are here to celebrate the positives and so did a few former players.

Let’s take a look at some of the former and even current players who celebrated with posts on Twitter following UNC’s big win on Saturday.

Whew.

Everyone take a deep breath. Relax. The North Carolina Tar Heels are going to the Sweet 16 following a dramatic win over Baylor on Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Tar Heels built up a 25-point lead in the second half of Saturday’s win and watched it all come crashing down as the Bears rallied to tie the game and send it to overtime. After Brady Manek was ejected for an elbow and Caleb Love fouled out, UNC was down to freshman Dontrez Styles and transfer Justin McKoy to play key minutes down the stretch.

UNC blew that 25-point lead thanks to a combo of an offensive onslaught by the Bears plus some poor decision-making by the Tar Heels including struggling to get the ball inbounds. All the momentum was with Baylor and after Armando Bacot missed two free throws late, the Bears tied it with a three.

But in overtime, the Tar Heels held control.

Styles buried a three on the first possession and after Baylor tied it shortly after, Bacot and R.J. Davis went to work. The Tar Heels pulled off the upset beating Baylor 93-86.

𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝟏𝟔 𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 🗣️#CarolinaFamily | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/YZPOndpkYF

— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 19, 2022

Davis finished with a career-high 30 points to help pace the Tar Heels while Manek had 27 before being ejected with 10 minutes left in the second half.

UNC is going to their 30th Sweet 16, the most in NCAA Tournament history.

As No. 8 North Carolina battles No. 1 Baylor in the East Region for a spot in the Sweet 16, they are doing so in front of a primarily big Bears crowd. The Bears are playing in their home state of Texas and the trip isn’t tough for their fans to make.

But that didn’t stop UNC fans, former players and even Roy Williams from attending.

Among those sitting in the UNC section is a familiar face. Former center Garrison Brooks, who transferred to Mississippi State for his final year, is sitting near his former head coach Williams for the game. Brooks made the trip to Fort Worth to watch his former team and teammates:

Garrison Brooks us here pic.twitter.com/Z9Tbu6OjHO

— Tar Heel Illustrated (@HeelIllustrated) March 19, 2022

There are other former players in attendance as we spotted Raymond Felton for the first-round game against Marquette on Thursday.

While Brooks moved on and did what was best for him for his final season, he will always be a Tar Heel.

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The North Carolina Tar Heels (25-9)  return to action on Saturday with a date against the No. 1 Baylor Bears (27-6) in the East Region and a trip to the Sweet 16 trip on the line.  UNC is coming off a 32-point win over No. 9 Marquette on Thursday while Baylor beat No. 16 Norfolk State by 36.

This will be a tougher test for both teams on Saturday and if UNC plays like they did against Duke and Marquette, they should give Baylor some fits.

For the Bears, they are going to have to get physical and make UNC work extra hard to get shots. When teams try to be physical with UNC that’s when they usually find success. The perimeter defense will also be key for both teams.

With the No. 2 seed in the East Region already falling in Kentucky losing to St. Peters, the Tar Heels have a  chance to do some more damage in this region and open things up. But they are going to have to bring their A-game if they want to do just that.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of Saturday’s first-round game against Baylor.