RJ Davis expresses gratitude after rising up UNC's coveted list
Wednesday night featured an intriguing matchup between the North Carolina Tar Heels and No. 7 Florida Gators. It even witnessed star guard RJ Davis reaching a milestone in the Tar Heels' record books.
Davis put up a game-high 29 points and eight rebounds. He shot 10 of 19, including 3 of 11 from beyond the arc. In the process, with 2,293 points, he passed Phil Ford's 2,290 points for the third on North Carolina's all-time scoring list. He now trails only Tyler Hansbrough and Armando Bacot.
The guard reacted on Instagram on Thursday, only needing three words to reflect on his accomplishment:
"Thank you God."
RJ Davis, Tar Heels looking to rebound from loss to Florida
Even though RJ Davis made history on Wednesday, the Tar Heels were unable to capitalize on it with a win, falling 90-84 to the No. 7 Gators.
Rebounds played a significant role in North Carolina's failure to keep up with Florida. The Gators crashed the glass, grabbing 46 rebounds compared to 36 from the Tar Heels, as UNC coach Hubert Davis noted the strong trait of Florida's style of play.
“They’re one of the best offensive rebounds teams in the country," Davis said. "We knew, coming in, that a huge determining factor for us is that we have to finish every possession, box out and rebound.
"They go consistently to the offensive glass with persistence, in terms of getting second-chance points. We were up by four with four minutes to go. Went down the stretch, they had four offensive rebounds for seven points. That was the game.”
North Carolina (6-5) averages 86.5 points on 46.8% shooting from the field and 31.3% from downtown. On defense, they concede 79.7 points on shooting splits of 42.3% overall and 34.3% from 3-point range.
Davis leads the team in scoring with 18.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game, Seth Trimble puts up 15.0 ppg and 4.9 rpg, while Elliot Cadeau provides 11.5 ppg, 5.7 apg and 3.5 rebounds.
RJ Davis and North Carolina will look to return to the win column when they play No. 18 UCLA at Madison Square Garden in New York at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday.