NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - MARQUETTE VS NORTH CAROLINA

March 17, 2022

Hubert Davis

Caleb Love

Brady Manek

Armando Bacot

Dickies Arena

North Carolina Tar Heels

Media Conference

North Carolina - 95, Marquette - 63

Welcome the student-athletes from North Carolina, Mr. Manek, Mr. Bacot, Mr. Love. Mr. Davis will be joining us shortly. We can start with questions for the student-athletes so we can begin in the front there, second row on the left. We'll start third row on the left.

Q. All three of you can answer this question: 20 to two run, turned it from 8 to 7, to 27 to 10, you guys. It seemed like their disposition completely changed and yours continued to soar. Did you sense that in them, and what was the key to the run?

CALEB LOVE: I feel like it's just our defense. You know, we pride ourselves on the defensive-end. And we seen that we can turn them over and make them take bad shots. And so that just contributed to the run.

THE MODERATOR: Mr. Manek.

BRADY MANEK: Yeah, we just played hard. You know, we had a lot of assists today. We were playing well together. It was a good game, good day for us. And glad to see the outcome.

THE MODERATOR: And let's finish that thought with Mr. Bacot.

ARMANDO BACOT: Yeah, like what they said, we were played a great defense and also we were hitting shots, too. And when we're doing both of those things real hard out.

THE MODERATOR: Welcome Coach Davis. Coach, if you would like to issue an opening statement, and then we'll return to the questions.

HUBERT DAVIS: I'm just really happy for the players. Just really proud of them, not just today, but all season. This is the first NCAA tournament win for Caleb and Armando and RJ. It was really important for me for them to have an experienced success. So I'm very happy and very proud of all of them.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you. Let's return to the front second row, please.

Q. This question is for Caleb. It seemed like Morsell was trying to get in your head a little bit there in the first half. Can you just talk about that experience and how you responded to it?

CALEB LOVE: We knew it was going to be a dogfight. You know, we don't back down from anything. So, you know, just my competitive nature and my team's competitive nature, just came out and, you know, we played it smart. And, you know, we came out with the win. That's all I cared about.

THE MODERATOR: Back row on the left.

Q. This is for Caleb and Brady. What did you guys see that opened up the three-point shooting so much? Was it anything that Marquette kind of left open on defense that you were able to exploit or were you -- you just got hot?

CALEB LOVE: You know, just getting in the lane. You know, we get in a lane and we kick it out for open threes. We got a lot of guys that can shoot. We penetrate the defense and we kick them out and we knock them down.

THE MODERATOR: Middle on the left.

Q. Questions for Coach Davis. Can you give us your thoughts on -- you played for this program. And to lead this team to a win, and what it means for you personally?

HUBERT DAVIS: Honestly, it really doesn't mean anything to me personally. The reason why that I do this job, it's -- to me, it's missionary work. It's an act of service. It puts me in a position to help, to serve, to coach, to teach.

And it gives me an opportunity every day to have a front-row seat to be able to help out each one of these players, be the best that they can be on the court, in the classroom, and in the community.

So the joy that I feel is seeing them joyful. It just is. And so, seeing them experience success, specifically tonight, is something, you know, when I see Caleb and Brady and Armando playing well like they did today, I know all the hard work that was put in during the summer and late nights and early in the mornings. And it's almost like a father. I've got three kids and it's a feeling of just being proud.

THE MODERATOR: All right. Side, halfway back.

Q. Armando, the tournament opener for you guys last year went a completely different way than today. Was it something that you think motivated you guys? Did you talk about that at all? Did you think about that at all, like changing it around?

ARMANDO BACOT: Yeah, I would say mainly just for the returning players, just having that feeling of going home early and in the fashion that we went home.

But, I mean, for us as a whole, as a team, I mean, it's the NCAA tournament. And like I said, the other day, we packed five outfits and we didn't want to go home early. So we decided to go out there and fight and listen to the game plan and do everything that we're supposed to do and we knew we would get this outcome.

Q. You all held Justin Lewis, led by Leaky, to a season low of six points. How integral was that to winning this game?

ARMANDO BACOT: Yeah, having a guy like Leaky is just amazing. Just knowing that every game he can go in there and shut down their best players. So it's just our job as the other four guys to contained the rest and we in good shape.

THE MODERATOR: Let's get thoughts from Brady on that, too.

BRADY MANEK: Yeah, we had the same question yesterday. He's been doing that to people all season. A lot of it's been going on unnoticed. But that's what we need him. That's the kind of player he is, that's the kind of person he is, and he gives us his best every day. So just really proud of him and glad to be on this team.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, why don't you finish the thought.

BRADY MANEK: No, I do. Leaky's performance this year defensively has gone unnoticed. You know, a lot of times, you know, from a defensive standpoint, the first, you know, two statistics that people look at is blocked shots and steals. And so they'll determine postseason awards based on those two categories. It would be nice if they actually looked at, like, specific stats in terms of how they defended guys throughout the season.

And if you took the time to look at Leaky's defensive stats towards the opposing player -- best player, whether it's a wing player or a power forward, I think he would be noticed more as one of the best defenders, if not the best defender in the country.

THE MODERATOR: I think we only have the one microphone going right now, so we'll stay on the right for one more and then get back to the left. Just one more on the right.

Q. Hubert, you talked a lot this week about intensity and playing with physicality against this Marquette team. When there was that altercation at half court, kind of midway through the first half, it seems as though you turned to your bench to really encourage them and get them fired up? Is that accurate and kind of what your --

HUBERT DAVIS: Yes, yes.

Q. What was your intent there?

HUBERT DAVIS: My intent is to continue to fight. Plane and simply, period, the end. That someone is going to trying to push us around, we're going to push back. If they going to elbow, we'll elbow them back. If they going to kick us, we're going to kick them back.

I've been clear and definitive to the guys about what we need to do out there on the floor. And there's been a number of times where teams have tried to push us around. And the only way that you can change that narrative of people thinking that they can do that, is that you swing back or you be the first one to swing.

And I told the guys before the game, I said, there's three types of people. There's people that don't want to fight, there's people that do want to fight, and there's people that are looking for a fight.

And I said, I want a bunch of guys, 17 guys in the locker room that are looking for a fight as we go up there and compete. And that's what they did. And I'm very, very, very proud of them.

THE MODERATOR: Let's go on the left-hand side, about halfway back.

Q. This is for Caleb and Brady. When those first shots went in, was there a feeling that they going to continue to fall? You guys set the school single game tournament record for most threes today.

CALEB LOVE: Yeah, I mean, when you shoot your first one and it goes in, you kind of get a feel for it. Since we've been here, you know, we got a feel for the ball and the ball felt good. So, you know, as a shooter, and you see your first one go in, you get confident. And like I said, you keep shooting and they keep falling.

THE MODERATOR: Brady, can you follow up?

BRADY MANEK: Yeah, I'd just say, you know, you get guys that are threats on the floor and it really spaces out for everybody else. And I'm fortunate enough to be able to play with guards that like throwing me the ball.

So just finding the open spots and getting me those open looks, it really gets my confidence going. So, yeah, I'm just really glad to be here and play with the guards like I am playing with.

THE MODERATOR: Second row on the left-hand side.

Q. This question is for Armando. Armando, you said yesterday that you noticed that you didn't think Marquette was very good on the boards. You guys, obviously, pounded them in that category. Did it come out like you expected it to, or what did you see as far as that goes?

ARMANDO BACOT: Yeah, I mean, I knew we had a huge size advantage in the paint. And obviously, just based on their statistics for the year, they weren't a great rebounding team and I think that really gave us an advantage all throughout the game in the first half, us doubling them in rebounds, and just getting all the second-chance opportunities.

I mean, I know it was going to be a huge advantage for us. I mean, that's what North Carolina is all about, rebounding the ball, so it was great.

THE MODERATOR: Front side on the right here.

Q. Coach, can you just look ahead to Saturday and talk about the matchup with Baylor, how you feel like you match up with them?

HUBERT DAVIS: I'm just really -- I know Baylor has an unbelievable coach. Their team has been, you know, fantastic throughout the season. Obviously, they're the defending champions.

And so it will be an extremely tough challenge for us. But we're excited to have the opportunity to do that. And we're very thankful that we're still playing and that we do get that chance and do get that opportunity on Saturday against a very, very good Baylor team.

THE MODERATOR: All right. Left-hand side.

Q. This is for Brady and Caleb. Did you guys take anything specifically from the Virginia Tech loss in the ACC tournament as regards to being a little bit more patient with getting Armando the ball in the post? It seemed like there was more of a concerted effort, especially early on, that if he didn't have the first look, you guys were patient and waited for him to get more established and gave him the ball?

CALEB LOVE: Yeah, we -- Armando is a mismatch with anybody guarding him. I don't think anybody can stop him in the country. I'm grateful to have him as a teammate like that. When he's down there, it's automatic buckets. So, of course, we looking for him.

And like I said -- like you said, we're more patient when he's not open the first time we move the ball, get it around, and get it back to him. So, yeah.

BRADY MANEK: Yeah, us having Armando really opens up the floor for everybody else. You know, he's getting double-teamed all the time. You know, leaving guys open that are also threats. So they kind of have to pick and choose. And definitely a key thing we wanted to do today. We knew he had the advantage down low and he took advantage of it.

THE MODERATOR: Okay. We have time for a couple more questions. In the back.

Q. Armando, you set the single season school record for rebounds in a season. What does that mean to you?

ARMANDO BACOT: I mean, it's a great record to hold. I hope that I can extend it a little bit more. I told Coach the other day that I was going to try and break it in like the first four minutes, and I think I did, so I was glad to do that.

BRADY MANEK: You should have told me that.

ARMANDO BACOT: I know. I forgot, though. It's crazy, because before the game, I wasn't even thinking about it. I didn't realize it until after the game.

THE MODERATOR: All right. One more. Who wants it? All right, right there. Far right side.

Q. RJ had 12 assists today. A career high for him. What does that distribution help you all do?

THE MODERATOR: Coach, do you want to start?

HUBERT DAVIS: Yeah, he was fantastic today. And he's been fantastic throughout the entire season. One of the things that was an emphasis for us playing against Marquette, because they're so good defensively, they do a great job of getting steals and deflections.

And so we just, every day, talked about taking care of the basketball and making the easy play. And that's what RJ did consistently throughout the night. I mean, they have 12 assists but one turnover. He just was making the easy play and got us the ball to our players at the right spots where they can make plays on the offensive end. And it just shows there's so many different ways that you can impact and help a team.

And RJ is a lights-out shooter. And from an offensive standpoint in terms of shooting, it wasn't his best night. But very easily you could say he was the MVP of our team the way he took care of the basketball, the way he distributed.

THE MODERATOR: You guys want to follow up on that?

ARMANDO BACOT: RJ has been playing fantastic all year. And Coach Davis always preached to me and RJ about if your shot is not falling, how else can you impact the game? And so being a point guard, if your shot is not falling, we still got to play defense, we still got to distribute, we still got to rebound. Do other things to impact the game.

So that's exactly what RJ did. His shot wasn't falling and he gave us a spark on the offensive end by creating for others.

THE MODERATOR: All right. Men, congratulations. We look forward to seeing you again tomorrow and then in the round of 32 on Saturday.

HUBERT DAVIS: Thank you very much.