UNC men's basketball team shows cohesiveness in double-digit win over SMU

Hubert Davis spoke with his team in the days leading up to UNC's game against SMU. 

With a 9-6, unpredictable squad standing in front of him, the head coach preached about the one thing his Tar Heels have lacked all season: cohesiveness.  

“Everything that we do, it has to be done together,” Davis said. 

The idea was simple in principle, but the team held onto the idea. Both coaching staff and players repeated it to each other day in and day out.

“We've got to rebound together,” Davis said. “We've got to defend together. We've got to take care of the ball together. We've got to execute offensively together. It's just something that this team continues to say. In order for us to be the best that we can be, it has to be all parts working together.”

And for maybe the first time all season, it seemed like all the parts were working together. The UNC men's basketball team earned a comfortable 82-67 win over SMU on Tuesday evening at the Dean E. Smith Center. For only the second time this season, North Carolina led wire-to-wire. UNC kept the Mustangs — the ACC's highest-scoring offense — to a season-low 33.3 percent from the floor. After shooting less than 27 percent from behind the arc over the last seven games, the Tar Heels shot 50 percent from three, notching seven triples in the first half. 

The reason that happened is simple. They listened to Davis. They took the message to heart. 

The Tar Heels didn't fall into a double-digit deficit too big to claw out of. They didn't need a late-game comeback. They didn't need a last-second shot.

Instead, North Carolina played a full 40 minutes of basketball.   

And SMU had all the makings of a team ready to exploit North Carolina's weaknesses. The Mustangs lead the ACC in scoring, combined rebounds and offensive rebounds. The Tar Heels rank 328th in the nation in scoring defense. SMU is second in the ACC in team 3-point field goal percentage. UNC ranks 13th out of 18 teams in opponent 3-point field goal percentage. 

So, ahead of a must-win game to keep any post-season dreams alive, UNC didn't change much. It was all about the attitude. Preaching togetherness. Striking first as a unit. Being aggressive down to every small detail.

“We just wanted to make sure we were the team that hit first,” first-year forward Drake Powell said. “Whether that was an elbow, a forearm or even a head. We just wanted to make sure that we made contact first.”

In the opening 30 seconds, junior center Jalen Washington kicked out to sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau with four seconds left on the shot clock. Cadeau drained the shot as the time dwindled. UNC hit first. 

Seconds later, Cadeau stole the ball for an easy fast break layup. And it didn't stop from there.

Powell hit three triples in four minutes to fuel a 10-point lead in what became a 17-point performance for the rookie. With seven minutes remaining in the first half, forwards Ven-Allen Lubin and Jae'Lyn Withers double-teamed SMU's Samet Yiğitoğlu to force the turnover. On the fast break, Cadeau laid it in. The Mustangs called a timeout. 

“You're trying to really just go out there and play the full 40,” Lubin said. “Just the way we come out the first half, we're even better the second half. I know we're not gonna be perfect. I know we're gonna have our ups and downs, but we're just trying to stay consistent and stay together through those moments.”

Up by 13 with less than 17 minutes remaining, Powell blocked guard B.J. Edwards' layup attempt. Graduate guard RJ Davis grabbed the ball, sprinted down the court, scored and drew the foul with it. The Tar Heels never looked back. 

They worked in transition. They forced turnovers. They hit 11 threes. It was a full-scale effort that led to a 15-point victory. 

So, Hubert Davis shared a different speech following the game.

He thanked his team for listening. He congratulated them for finally being on the same page. 

@_emmahmoon

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com