Davis: 'We know what we're getting into' when UNC meets Marquette in NCAA Tournament
Posted March 15, 2022 11:02 a.m. EDT
Updated March 15, 2022 11:14 a.m. EDT
Chapel Hill, N.C. — The start of March Madness is nearly here.
UNC junior forward Armando Bacot, senior guard Leaky Black, graduate transfer forward Brady Manek and head coach Hubert Davis spoke with reporters Tuesday morning ahead of their first-round matchup against Marquette.
The Tar Heels and Golden Eagles tip off at 4:30 p.m. ET Thursday. The winner will play the winner of No. 1 seed Baylor and No. 16 seed Norfolk State.
“When we play Marquette on Thursday, we know what we’re getting into,” Davis said.
Davis said this year’s tournament is going to be different compared to last year’s, which was held exclusively in the Indianapolis area due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Compared to what we went through last year in Indianapolis, this is going to be very different,” Davis said.
Last year, North Carolina, under then-head coach Roy Williams, lost to Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Davis is in his first season coaching at UNC.
“He’s been fired up ever since we figured who we (were) playing after the selection show,” Bacot said of Davis.
Davis said he was disappointed his team didn’t win the ACC Tournament. However, he said the Tar Heels would benefit from the extended rest after losing to Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament semifinal game.
“Rest is really good for this group, and the long timeouts in the NCAA Tournament are really good for this group as well,” Davis said.
Entering the NCAA Tournament, the Tar Heels have won six of their last seven games.
“Especially over the last month, maybe the last month and half, this is the most together that I felt our group has been, and the healthiest that our team has been,” Davis said.
Black said Davis does a great job motivating the players.
“You don't see him scowling before the games? Just imagine the pregame speeches,” Black said. “It makes you want to run through a brick wall …
“He does it without cussing. It’s impressive. It's really impressive.”
Manek, an Oklahoma transfer, said it was his goal to get out of the first weekend.
“We knew we only had one year with Brady,” Davis said of Manek. “The guys on the team love him.”
When Manek played four seasons for the Sooners, they never made it out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament:
- 2017-2018: First round of the NCAA Tournament
- 2018-2019: Second round of the NCAA Tournament
- 2019-2020: No postseason held due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- 2020-2021: Second round of the NCAA Tournament
Fort Worth, Texas, is a little bit more than a three-hour drive from Harrah, Oklahoma, which is Manek’s hometown. Manek said friends, family, grandparents and his high school coach will attend Thursday’s game against Marquette.
Black said Manek and now-Chicago Bulls guard Coby White were his two “favorite” players to play with at North Carolina.
“He’s a great shooter,” Black said of Manek. “He’s literally like my favorite player …
“Me and Brady just click.”
