RJ Davis sends brutal message to North Carolina’s March Madness doubters following the Team’s Win in the NCAA Tournament
The NCAA Tournament selection committee came under fire this week after it put North Carolina in the March Madness field over a handful of other bubble teams, including West Virginia and Indiana. The Tar Heels silenced critics Tuesday night with an emphatic 95-68 win over San Diego State in the First Four. UNC led by as many as 40 in the second half and became the first NCAA Tournament team in history to score 95+ points while shooting 50% or better from the field and 3-point line and 85% or better from the free throw line.
“Noise is always around,” Tar Heels guard RJ Davis said after the game, regarding the media backlash surrounding UNC’s NCAA Tournament inclusion. “It’s like that at North Carolina. It’s been like that for my five years. We’re doing a good job of doing that and not really allowing that to get inside the locker room. We hear it, but we don’t listen.”
UNC is set to face six-seeded Ole Miss in the Round of 64 on Friday. The Tar Heels opened as a 2.5-point favorite, per FanDuel.
Below is everything Davis and North Carolina teammates Seth Trimble, Elliot Cadeau and Jae’Lyn Withers said about silencing critics after the lopsided win against San Diego State in Dayton, Ohio:
DAVIS ON HEARING THE HATE, NOT LISTENING
“Noise is always around. It’s like that at North Carolina. It’s been like that for my five years, and that just comes with being such a great university. Whether you’re in college of the professionals, you’re always going to have noise. You’re always going to have doubters, haters and comments. It’s your job as a professional athlete just to ignore that, stay true to yourself, and stay within the parameters of the team. We’re doing a good job of doing that and not really allowing that to get inside the locker room. We’ve been doing a good job of not listening. We hear it, but we don’t listen.”
DAVIS ON HUBERT DAVIS TELLING UNC TO WEAR BLINDERS
“We hear the noise, but we don’t really pay any attention to it. Coach Davis sets a good example for us. In order to play at this level, he always uses this reference: ‘Horses have blinders going into races. Avoid any distraction that doesn’t allow them to be their best in the race.’ That reference sits well with the team. We’re just focused on what we have to do, not really paying too much attention to what’s being said about us and whatnot. Just our preparation leading up to the games.”
TRIMBLE ON DESERVING TO BE IN NCAA TOURNAMENT
“We know we deserved to be here. We are not looking to send a message to anybody else. We’re just looking to compete as a team and be the team that we know that we are capable of being. We did that tonight. We’ll go through that when we get to Milwaukee and go from there. We hear what the people say. We don’t really care. It is what it is. We’re focused on us.”
TRIMBLE ON UNC BLOSSOMING INTO AN NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAM DOWN THE STRETCH
“It took an evolution. The team of November and December wasn’t an NCAA Tournament team. We weren’t necessarily ready for that next step, and that’s on the defensive and offensive end. But, now everybody has bought into it. Everybody’s bought into the little details, and we’ve all just followed our principles. It’s taken us somewhere. We got to keep going. As soon as we went to that (big) lineup, we all just settled in. Everybody was able to find a groove. I’m glad that we went bigger because it’s worked out. Drake at the 3. J-Wit at the 4. J-Wash and Ven (Lubin) at the 5.It just gives us so much versatility. I’m all here for it.”
TRIMBLE ON PROVING SPECIFIC DOUBTERS WRONG
“We were feeling a little bit of doubt from the outside. A part of us wanted to prove the doubters wrong, but we were just focused on us. We were focused on proving ourselves right, and we were just focused on being a team. We know there’s going to be doubt. We’re the University of North Carolina. There’s doubt with us each and every day. There’s hate with us each and every day. We’re used to it. … We’ve heard the hate. Even from the guy that commentated our game tonight. We’ve heard it.”
CADEAU ON WHETHER IT WAS IMPORTANT TO PLAY WELL AFTER HEARING HATE
“It was definitely important for us. We feel like we have to prove a lot of people wrong, and that just gives us a bigger chip on our shoulders. Our confidence is just higher. I think we’re playing with more swag and more confidence than we have been. That’s helping us offensively. … We know we know exactly what the coaches want from us. We’re able to play without thinking about anything, and it is working.”
WITHERS ON IF IT FEELS GOOD TO HAVE A BLOWOUT WIN AFTER QUAD 1 DEBATE
“I definitely think it was big. It was pretty, pretty good win. But we have not done anything yet. We secured a spot. Right now, we still have a long road to go ahead of us. We approached the game as we did the past 12 games. The biggest thing for us has been staying confident, staying aggressive and doing whatever it takes to get the win. That has been our mindset over the past 12 games.”
TRIMBLE ON THE ANXIETY OF SELECTION SUNDAY
“It’s go time now. We know that we’re in. We know that the decision that somebody else has to make is out of the picture now. We just know it’s time to go. It’s time to focus on us. It’s time to do what we do. It is as simple as that. As soon as we saw Sunday evening that we were the No. 11 seed in Dayton, we knew it was go time. We dropped it right away. We were able to drop our nerves and jitters and able to play a good game as a team.”
DAVIS ON IF UNC PILED ON SAN DIEGO STATE TO SEND A MESSAGE TO DOUBTERS
“We’re not in control of who gets placed in the NCAA Tournament. Obviously, controversial statements have been going on. At the end of the day, it is what it is. We just have to focus on us. We’re just excited to play in March Madness. It was really just a lot of excitement going out there and playing in front of our fans, as well as having the opportunity to go to Milwaukee and be in the first round. It is just more about taking advantage of this moment.”
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