UNC's RJ Davis strengthens case for ACC player of the year in rout of Wake

By Brian Murphy, WRAL

RJ Davis felt like he was playing basketball in his backyard.

The thousands of fans chanting his name made it clear the North Carolina guard was on a much bigger stage.

Davis scored a career-high 36 points, bolstering his case for ACC player of the year honors, and No. 3 North Carolina dominated the second half en route to a 85-64 victory over Wake Forest in Chapel Hill on Monday night.

"I feel like I'm in my backyard just out there just hooping," Davis said. "It's like a zone that every hooper knows and when you're just in that zone, it's hard to get out of. You can't hear anything. You just see the ball and the basket. That's the type of zone I was in."

Davis, a contender for national player of the year honors and the ACC's leading scorer, made 14-of-23 shots and did not have a turnover in 37 minutes.

"RJ Davis is the best player in our league," Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes said. "He proved it tonight."

Davis, in his fourth season, got a standing ovation from the Smith Center crowd as he left with 44 seconds remaining. Moments earlier, the crowd chanted "RJ, RJ" after he knocked down his fourth — and final — 3-pointer of the game.

UNC coach Hubert Davis, who played for the Tar Heels and served as an assistant coach, said it is the first time he can remember the Smith Center crowd chanting a player's name.

"He's had a terrific career," Hubert Davis said, "but I feel like this year he's finally getting noticed."

UNC improved 16-3 overall and 8-0 in the ACC. It is the first time the Tar Heels have opened conference play 8-0 since 2015-16.

Wake Forest fell to 13-6 overall and 5-3 in the ACC.

Wake led 34-33 at halftime. Hubert Davis lit into his team during halftime.

"There was a lot of yelling," RJ Davis said.

It worked. The game was tied at 41 after Efton Reid's dunk with 16:47 remaining, but then the Tar Heels took off.

RJ Davis made consecutive 3-pointers — UNC's first two of the game after missing its first eight from deep — and sparked an 18-4 run over the next five minutes.

The Tar Heels pushed their lead to as many as 24 in the second half. It was their ninth consecutive win by double figures.

Davis' previous career high was 30 points, set against Baylor in the 2022 NCAA Tournament and matched earlier this season against Arkansas.

He and his teammates knew that Davis had matched his career high in the second half.

"You better get a bucket," freshman guard Elliot Cadeau told him. "You better get another bucket. And then when he had 36, I was setting up a play for him to get another 3 so he could have basically 40. And then he got subbed out."

His 36 points were the most for a UNC player at the Smith Center since Tyler Hansbrough scored 39 against Clemson in 2008. The 36 points were the most for a UNC player in any games since Brice Johnson scored 39 against Florida State in 2016.

Cadeau (14 points), guard Cormac Ryan (11) and forward Harrison Ingram (10) also reached double figures for UNC. Ingram added 14 rebounds.

UNC had 48 points in the paint, part of a plan to attack the basket against the Deacons.

Hunter Salis paced Wake Forest with 18 points.