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FORT WORTH, Texas — Armando Bacot, R.J. Davis and Caleb Love secured their first-ever NCAA Tournament win on Thursday, 95-63, over Marquette. It is the largest victory by an 8-seed over a 9-seed since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
Bacot had his 26th double-double of the season and set a single-season rebounding school record (422), Love set the school record for most made threes in a half in a Round of 64 game (6), and Davis had the second-most assists by a Tar Heel in an NCAA Tournament game (12).
On Friday, joined by Brady Manek and Leaky Black, the UNC starting five answered questions from media members before they take on No. 1 seed and reigning national champion Baylor on Saturday.
Brady Manek: «Yeah, they’re always defensively sound. They’re a really good basketball team. And he does a good job, whether it’s defense or offense, getting his guys to play together. They’re going to be a tough opponent for us.»
Manek: «Yeah, it’s special. It’s very different than what I’ve been used to. And, you know, it’s just awesome to be able to know — knowing that when I came in I only had one year. But just being accepted by everybody and just having an awesome year. It’s been unbelievable.»
Leaky Black: «Yeah, I feel like it just shows how mentally tough this group is. Being able to play every minute of every game if we need to, it really shows how tough we are.»
Caleb Love: «Yeah, just like Leaky said, us being out there, we got a lot of good chemistry with our five and just us being out there. It just shows how gelled we are and how, you know, how defensively sound and offensively our chemistry is there and stuff like that.»
R.J. Davis: «I just think our ability to stick together through thick and thin when things don’t go our way, or when things do go our way. We just always talk about staying together. We’re all we got. And our ability to, like Leaky said, play every minute from first half to second half, it just shows our toughness.»
Armando Bacot: «I think it’s a lot of fun, being able to play all those minutes. I like being on the court.»
Manek: «Yeah, it’s a really good group of guys. We play well together and have had a good year. I don’t want it to end yet.»
Since then, you’ve won seven of eight, including the big win at Duke. What do you think changed in this stretch for you guys to put yourselves in the position so that you’re playing and you’re beating Baylor tomorrow?
Davis: «I would say our preparation and mindset, going to practice, into the games. We knew the potential of this team coming into this season. And we just wanted to turned it around. We knew after the loss to Pitt, that wasn’t the way we wanted to play. So from that point on, I think we just turned it around and started to compete. And everyone bought into their roles and that’s kind of what we’ve been buying into.»
Bacot: «No, I haven’t had a chance to talk to him yet. But we see a lot of guys like Brice, and they come back during the summer. So I’m pretty sure when he’ll come back in the summer there will be some trash talk and I’ll mess with him a little bit about it.»
Love: «It gives me a lot of confidence, you know, seeing that first one go through. And just seeing it go through the hoop, just giving me a lot of confidence. And then it opens up the floor for everybody else. If I’m hitting, then it opens up the floor for R.J. or Leaky or Brady. And so, it just opens up the floor. So if I’m on — like I said, it just opens up everything else.»
Love: «No, he hasn’t mentioned that.»
Bacot: «Coach Williams did last year, I think, though. He was just telling us that it’s been done before, and it’s something that can happen.»
And then as you sit here now, you know, how do you think about your decision to transfer here and how everything’s gone?
Manek: «Yeah, actually I got hurt against Baylor. Mark Vital…That one hurt a lot. That wasn’t fun. But, yeah, you know, that didn’t really have anything to do with my decision to leave or whatever. But, you know, just my decision to come to North Carolina has been awesome and it’s been amazing, and it’s been a great year.»
Love: «As far as on the defensive end for us, I just feel like we just got to contain their drive. They’re more of a driving team than a shooting team. But also contain the three, as well. So we’re going to do that. But on the offensive end, we’re just going to take what the defense gives us, do whatever the Coach tells us to do. As far as moving the ball, getting the ball inside to Armando and Brady and them. I just feel like we’re going to stick to our game plan and everything else will work out.»
Manek: «Yeah, I’d say our best offense comes from our defensive end, us getting stops leads to transition points, guys getting open. And I think a big part of our game tomorrow will be how we play defensively.»
Manek: «I would say the confidence level of playing, making shots, having these guys trust me and throw me the ball. It’s been fun. And, you know, I’ve been able to put the ball on the floor more. A little bit more — I wouldn’t say freedom, but just a little bit more confidence of being able to put the ball on the floor.»
Black: «I feel like just getting the ball down low to Armando first, you know, letting them sink in. They’re going to have to double them off, I feel like, and that will free up Caleb and R.J. and Brady to hit the outside shots. And just starting low and starting at the rim, and then being able to kick it out, that will give Caleb and R.J. more time to shoot the ball.»
Davis: «I would say just playing off instincts, letting the flow of the game work itself on out, whether that’s getting the ball down low to Armando, finding Brady, Caleb open for three, or Leaky in transition. Just continue with our game plan and continue doing what works for us.»
Black: «I don’t think it’s hard. You know, these guys are very gifted offensively. So I feel like, you know, it makes my job simple. I don’t get to rest on offense. But, so to speak, I feel like I do get to rest on offense and have to pick it up more so on the defensive end. And it just makes my job easy.»
Bacot: «I mean, I would say for most of us, especially with it being tournament time, like, there’s no time for us to be tired and make excuses for ourselves. I mean, we get a day of rest in between, and then we get a few days off, and then you get to play again. So I don’t think that will be a problem.»
Love: «Yeah, just to build off of what Armando said as far as tournament time, it’s win or go home. If Coach needs us out there for 40 minutes, then that’s what we’re going to do. We don’t care how long we’re out there.»
Davis: «It meant a lot. I think Coach Davis wants the best for us and he wants us to experience the things that he experienced. You know, for us last year, for the returning players, the first round, first game, it wasn’t the way we expected it. So coming into this tournament this year, we wanted a different outcome. And we’re going to continue to improve and progress in the ways that we know we can. And so far, I’m enjoying the experience.»
Bacot: «Yeah, I would say, too, Coach Davis, I think, just with this group and us turning around kind of our season after the two losses versus Miami and Wake Forest, he’s done a great job. And also with losing — who was a huge piece to our team, and definitely a guy, a veteran that we could have used towards this time. And Dawson, too, not being here. That’s like them two combined like 20 points off the board that we didn’t have. And for us to figure it all out and get to this point through Coach Davis, I feel like he did a tremendous job in his first year.»
Davis: «I mean, they feel good. It’s easy to pass, easy to make shots with. So the feel of the Wilson basketball is nothing — not much of a difference.»
Love: «Yeah, I mean, they got a good grip to them. They do feel good.»
I’m just wondering about Coach Davis with this being his first year, after those games, was there anything that he did that maybe surprised you and maybe how he changed his approach with you guys, you know, over the past two months?
Black: «Yeah, I think it was after the — was it the Wake Forest — I want to say the Wake Forest game, he came into the locker room the next day and we were all thinking we were going to get chewed out. But he just came in super positive, saying we could accomplish all our goals. And I feel like that was a turning point in our season, seeing how positive he was.»
Davis: «I mean, definitely. It was after the Wake Forest game. He definitely came in with some positive words and the practice was positive. You know, we came in ready to work. And we all had a mindset of turning this whole thing around. It was a long season ahead. We still had a lot of games left. So he didn’t want us to get too down on ourselves. It was just more about locking in and focusing on what we had to accomplish, not what everyone else was saying about us.»
Bacot: «No, not at all. I feel like that was a lot of our problems in the beginning of the year, just looking ahead and looking forward. But you can ask me that after tomorrow and then I’ll have an answer for that.»
Bacot: «I love playing this early. 12:00 o’clock games, that’s my favorite game to play. There’s not much of a build up to the game. You’re not sitting around all day. You can just wake up, eat, and then go straight to the game. So I love an early start.»
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