This week marked UNC basketball’s first without a weeknight game since Christmas break. By tallying an 8-1 January record and posting a statement start to February by handily knocking off now-No. 8 Duke in Chapel Hill, the No. 10 Tar Heels (20-6, 12-3 ACC) put themselves in contention for a top NCAA Tournament seed.
But a 2-2 record since coincided with tired-sounding voices in the locker room, suggesting the team was more than happy to embrace this week between outings.
Gearing up for a battle against Tony Bennett’s unranked Virginia squad (20-7, 11-5 ACC) in Charlottesville at 4 p.m. ET Saturday (ESPN), third-year UNC head coach Hubert Davis detailed to the media on Friday what the break from game action has meant for his players’ state of mind:
“Individually and as a team, there are times where you can get better by just being able to catch a breath. And I do feel like basketball-wise, physically, even mentally being able just to take a deep breath, not having a midweek game, was something that would be good for this group.
“That being said, it was a week of hard work, a week of really good practices in preparation for the remainder of the season. And so, it wasn’t a week off-off. It was a time to reinforce the things that have allowed this team to be successful thus far and to be able to continue to improve and move forward…
“You know, there’s a difference in doing individual workouts and practicing on us — and thinking is being locked in towards that — as opposed to doing that in addition to [thinking] how does this relate in preparation to a game. And being able to just have a single focus on us for a good part of the week, I thought was refreshing.
