North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis reacts against the Michigan State Spartans in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at the Spectrum Center. Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: UNC's Hubert Davis calls out team's effort in fiery in-game interview

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 3/23/24

North Carolina coach Hubert Davis was not happy with his team’s start in Saturday’s second-round NCAA Tournament game, and he vented some of his anger in his in-game interview with CBS.

The top-seeded Tar Heels came out flat against Michigan State, falling behind 26-14 roughly 10 minutes into the first half. The Tar Heels had managed to get it to 28-20 by the under-eight media timeout, but that did not cheer Davis up much.

Davis was pulled aside for his obligatory in-game interview with CBS. Reporter Allie LaForce began to ask him a question about how the Spartans were dominating in the paint offensively, but Davis did not even let her finish before he started diagnosing his team’s issues.

Coach Hubert Davis is not pleased with the fight from his team right now. pic.twitter.com/tdVGzdG6q1

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 23, 2024

“They’re tougher. They’re catching the ball right underneath the basket. Until we meet the fight, that’s when things will turn around,” Davis said.

Davis then returned to the huddle, and whatever he said worked. North Carolina ended the half on a 20-3 run to take a nine-point lead into halftime.

Since taking over as head coach in 2021, Davis has not been shy about showing his emotions. In this instance, it clearly helped fire up his team, and it was pretty good for a laugh as well.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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