NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - NORTH CAROLINA VS BAYLOR

March 19, 2022

Hubert Davis

Armando Bacot

RJ Davis

Leaky Black

Dontrez Styles

Justin McKoy

Dickies Arena

North Carolina Tar Heels

Media Conference

North Carolina - 93, Baylor - 86

THE MODERATOR: North Carolina will join us momentarily. Please be sure to silence your cell phones. No video recording is allowed other than our friends at Hammond Media in the back. This is a hybrid press conference. So we'll have questions in the room and questions on Zoom. Be sure to identify yourself and your organization with your first question.

Remember, no videos, even with your phones. Pictures are okay. The only videos in the back, if you need to be patched in, or a copy of it, our friends at Hammond will help you out. Okay?

Welcome Head Coach Hubert Davis and the student-athletes from North Carolina. Closest to me after Coach Davis, Justin McCoy, then Leaky Black, Dontrez Styles, RJ Davis, and Arman -- I'm losing my mind here. Armando Bacot. Coach will pass on an opening statement. We learned that this week. And we'll just move to the first question from the room.

Q. Armando and RJ, did you -- your thoughts about overtime? It seemed like you guys had nothing left at the end of the regulation and then somehow found what you did in overtime. What was it that got you through?

RJ DAVIS: I didn't want to go home. I mean, there was no time to be tired. When we was going to go to overtime, I knew what was at stake. And we all wanted to win.

We wanted to get to the next round. So at that point, I wasn't even tired. I had a mindset of just, you know, gathering my teammates together and regrouping and telling them to contain our composure and let's get this win.

ARMANDO BACOT: Yeah, I mean, to build on what RJ said, none of us wanted to go home. We don't want to leave. I don't want to leave my brothers. And it was a tough last five minutes in overtime. And, I mean, all year, we've just been hearing different things about us, how we're a soft team, how don't like to fight.

And today, I think, we really showed that we can fight and to persevere in a moment like that and just come together. I'm just so proud and glad we won.

Q. This is for Justin and Dontrez. You guys hadn't really been in a position this season where you were asked to close out a game. How did you go into the overtime? Like, what was your mentality in terms of what you needed to do to help get over the hump?

DONTREZ STYLES: I would say just trust my work. You know, I put in a lot of work after practice, before practice, just trusted that. I think Coach Davis was trusting me to go out there and perform.

JUSTIN MCKOY: I would say also Coach Davis, I mean, he told us in the huddle and he told us, I mean, I'd say a thousand times at practice, that we're going to be in big moments and we need to be ready. And so each practice, we drilled it. And just being ready to step up, having their support all season just in my ear, having me ready, it made it easy to step up.

Q. The question is for Hubert Davis. Hubert, you talked all season about opportunity and how you never know when it's going to come but it will come. Has that ever felt more true than today?

HUBERT DAVIS: Well, today was a great example of that. It really was. And, you know, I always say that you will always get an opportunity with me. The thing I can't guarantee is when, where, how, and the manner in which it will come. The only thing that you are required to do is when that opportunity comes, to be ready. And Justin and Dontrez were ready.

And in a big-time moment, big-time situations, they stepped up on both ends of the floor. But, again, the thing that brings me such great joy is the thing that I desperately wanted for all of these guys the entire season, is for them to have their own stories and testimonies and memories of playing in big-time games and coming up big in that Carolina uniform.

And they just continue to have those stories and those memories. And to see their smiles and how happy they are, and the enjoyment that they're having being together, brings me great joy as a coach.

Q. Coach Davis, that game seemed to be interestingly officiated. From where you were sitting, how did you feel that the way the game was called influenced the outcome and just how the game played out in general?

HUBERT DAVIS: I thought both teams are very physical, both teams attack the basketball through post penetration and none of us wanted to go home. And so, it's a highly competitive game.

Baylor is defending champions. They were a No. 1 seed and they are absolutely unbelievable. And you just had two teams that were fighting and scratching and kicking and clawing on every pass, every rebound, every cut, every shot, every free-throw. And when that happens, at times, physicality happens.

But it was a very competitive game, physical game, and two great teams played today.

Q. This is really for all of the players. Brady has to go to the locker room with 10 minutes to go in the second half. What was kind of the message amongst yourselves on the court, and what was it like to kind of get back with him at the end of this game and see him in the locker room afterwards?

JUSTIN MCKOY: You know, we really just wanted to do it for him. I mean, it's his last year. I mean, the way I looked it was, you know, I don't want it to be his last game, I want to see him out there again.

And so I was, like, let's go win this for him.

LEAKY BLACK: Yeah, pretty much what Justin said. You know, when he got injected, we were trying to regroup and just tell everybody to keep their composure. There was a lot of time left, but we knew we could do it.

DONTREZ STYLES: We just knew everybody had to step up coming off the bench. Brady is a hell of a player, he's one of our best players, one of the best players in the country, in my opinion. So we had to step up with him and do it for him.

RJ DAVIS: I agree what the rest of the guys said. When we got back into the locker room, we all gave him a big hug. Just to be happy for him. We just wanted to do for him and got it done.

ARMANDO BACOT: Yeah, what they said.

Q. Coach, what did Baylor do, down 25, that allowed them to get back in this game, in other words, what did you guys do to yourself, up 25, that allowed them to get back into this game?

HUBERT DAVIS: Well, they consistently started to press us, and that bothered us. It did two things to us: One, it sped us up and made us make uncharacteristic plays; and the other thing, it made us turn the ball over.

And we knew that Baylor's so good defensively and one of the things defensively is big for them is taking care of the basketball. And so up to probably the ten-minute mark, we did a really good job of taking care of the basketball.

But I also felt at times in pressure situations we lost our composure. And so in certain situations, I feel like we helped them.

But Baylor's a great team. You know, as I said before, they're the defending national champions and they did not want to go home. And they stepped up their effort. But we stepped up our effort, as well. And we were able to make the plays that we needed to make in order to win the game.

Q. Armando, just wondering if you could speak to the level of anxiety out there. I mean, that's March Madness in full. You know, like what was the feeling like as they were coming back and you guys were trying to hold them off?

ARMANDO BACOT: Yeah, I mean, it was just crazy because their press, they was turning us over a lot and then we weren't making free-throws. So, I mean, there was a lot of pressure in those moments. But, I mean, it was just a next-play mentality and we just really had to dig in and just keep pushing and just keep a level head. And luckily, we came out with a win.

Q. Armando, kind of piggybacking off of that: With the officiating with the comeback, what does this rank as -- you know, everybody's been saying how crazy this game was. What does this rank as, you know, on the level of crazy games that you participated in while you were here at Carolina?

ARMANDO BACOT: Oh, that's a good question.

HUBERT DAVIS: We've had some crazy games this year.

ARMANDO BACOT: I don't know, we've had some crazy -- it's top three; Louisville, at Duke, and then this one, too. Top three.

HUBERT DAVIS: Clemson.

ARMANDO BACOT: Clemson was crazy, yup.

HUBERT DAVIS: Syracuse, Louisville. Yeah, you're right. Facts, facts. (Laughing)

ARMANDO BACOT: I don't know, it was just something. It was stressful, for sure.

THE MODERATOR: Wait until the end of the year and digest them all, then pick out your top five then.

Q. RJ, question for you. What was said in the huddle as you go to overtime, this whole crowd here is basically a Baylor crowd, and how did you guys bring this home, because it seemed like all the momentum had gone over there?

RJ DAVIS: Just stay together, make plays, and not get too rattled. I think that's what we were able to do in overtime. It was more about staying together, gathering the rebounds, and just making plays towards the end of the stretch.

You know, Trez made a big three. Justin came in, did big rebounds and free-throws at the end. You know, Leaky -- I can go down the line. But that was everything. Everyone came in, did their role and we came out with a win today.

Q. This question is for you RJ. Coming into this game, was there anything you saw on film or in the preparation for Baylor that let you know you were going to have a big game or you would have the opportunity to have as big a scoring game as you had today?

RJ DAVIS: I mean, I know they like to switch on ball screens. I was able to get in rhythm the first half. And that carried along throughout the whole game. I just took what the defense gave me and I was able to make big-time shots.

THE MODERATOR: Do one more in the room, then go to Zoom and come back here at Fort Worth.

Q. For RJ, at the end there it looked like your left hand maybe got rolled over on that jump-ball. What happened and how does it feel?

RJ DAVIS: Dove for the loose ball. The guy rolled on my thumb. I'm fine. So I'm good.

Q. This is for Armando and Coach, as well. Armando, considering you were -- you had four fouls and the chippiness with Sochan. How was it for you to still play your game down the stretch with the intensity of the game?

ARMANDO BACOT: Yeah, I mean, I just had to be smart and not pick up any silly offensive fouls, setting screens or sealing or doing anything like that.

And also on the defensive end, too, I just had to try to keep my body away from their guards at the end. We switched a lot. So usually that's an opportunity where I get fouls.

So just had to play smart and contain. At that point, we didn't have Brady and Caleb, and we needed as many bodies that play a lot in the game as we can as possible. So, yeah, I'm just glad I got out there without getting a fifth foul.

Q. Hey, how are you doing? I got a question for RJ. RJ, during the game, your dad actually got a mention during the game. He talked about what he did at Mercy, his career. I just wanted to ask you, I guess, two questions. Just could you kind of talk about what he did to help you coming up? And do you have any stories you want to share, any intense one-on-one games, anything like that?

RJ DAVIS: I mean, shout-out to my dad. He was a big-time scorer in college. They called him Rocket. I would say he was more of like a -- he liked to hunt his shots more than me. I think I'm an all-around point guard, shoot point guard, at that.

He just always stayed on me. Even when I had good games or bad games, it was just good criticism just to get me to the position where I'm at now. Give credit to him just for everything he's done for me, you know, from workouts to, you know, AU, him spazzing on me in car rides. So shout-out to Big Rob.

Q. Hubert, RJ yesterday, 12 assists, but couldn't really find the basketball himself. Today, a career high, 30 points. What did you see out of him, and did you say anything to him once Caleb came out with five fouls?

HUBERT DAVIS: Well, the first game against Marquette, he could find the basket, he just threw the ball to the people close to the basket. There's many different ways to find the basket. And that's why RJ is one of the better guards in the country.

His ability to understand when to pass and when to shoot has been absolutely fantastic. He runs our team, he gets the ball to our -- to his teammates at the right moment and at the right time where they can do something with it on the offensive end.

He does an excellent job of taking care of the basketball. And he's a big time shotmaker. You know, his ability to be able to, not only from three, but also that drive in overtime, to be able to finish in the lane, those are things that RJ has done consistently throughout the entire season.

So, you know, I know he was able to do that on the biggest stage today, but that's something that RJ has done consistently throughout the season.

Q. For Leaky and RJ, you guys had a lot of trouble there for a while getting the ball out of bounds and getting up the court, but you had a little bit more success in the overtime. What was working a little bit different for you there?

LEAKY BLACK: Yeah, pretty much when overtime started, we were just trying to get our guys to realize that it was zero-zero, it was a new game, just got to relax and we just got to step up regardless. That was pretty much it.

RJ DAVIS: Yeah, what Leaky said. No, I'll add on to that. I would say, you know, their press gave us a little bit of trouble. It was just more about having different outlets to get the ball in. You know, I think Justin, Armando, Trez did a good job of creating space to get open and that was able to get us down and get easy baskets on the offensive end.

THE MODERATOR: We've exhausted our time for the Tar Heels. Guys, thanks very much. Congratulations.