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Top UNC Quotes Heading into Selection Sunday
Mar 12, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis in the huddle with his team during the first half against the Clemson Tigers at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The North Carolina Tar Heels head into Selection Sunday with a level of uncertainty, as they will enter the NCAA tournament on a two-game skid, with losses against Duke and Clemson.

Here are quotes from the past week that carry weight into the bracket reveal for the Tar Heels. What will North Carolina focus on when it prepares for its first-round matchup on either Thursday or Friday of this upcoming week?

Physicality and Rebounding


Scott Kinser-Imagn Images
  • "I think rebounding is going to be big for us," Derek Dixon said after the loss to Duke. "All of us have to pitch in, not just Henri [Veesaar], not just Zayden [High] or Jarin [Stevenson], [we can't just] rely on them."
  • "All the guards pitching in. That's what killed us tonight (Saturday) - offensive rebounds. We just have to be better with that. Taking care of the ball - we're going to have to [clean] that up on the offensive end."

Rich Barnes-Imagn Images
  • "Yeah, just the inability to respond to physicality," Hubert Davis said when explaining what led to the team's struggles against the Tigers. "I felt like it was the same thing Saturday of last week, and for most of the game tonight."
  • "Clemson has always been physical defensively, and one of the things I always say is you never let a defense dictate and decide how efficient you are on the offensive end. And I felt like their physicality took us out of our offense, took us off of our cuts, our screens, our moves, and didn't really respond to that until the latter part of the second half."

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  • "Then also, I've been straightforward about - for us to be a good team, we've just got to be good defensively," Davis continued. "I've said defense and rebounding and taking care of the basketball."

Buying In and Playing Aggressive


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  • “That we have a chance to do some big things in March and April, but it’s hard, you know," Seth Trimble explained. "We have to buy in. And we can't buy it for some parts of the game like we did today.”
  • "We were just playing as a team, just trying to be aggressive," Henri Veesaar said. "I know they played long possessions, so we had to do quick offense because otherwise the clock was going to run out before we could get there."

Rich Barnes-Imagn Images
  • "Yeah, just really trying to be aggressive, trying to get the best shot, get an early shot and then fight as hard as we can for offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, trying to just get us back into the game."

This article first appeared on North Carolina Tar Heels on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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