RJ Davis takes over as No. 4 UNC reaches ACC Tournament final by beating Pitt 72-65
WASHINGTON (AP) Seconds after No. 4 North Carolina won to advance to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament final, RJ Davis and Armando Bacot beelined toward each other to celebrate.
“RJ, he’s been our closer all year and he hit some huge shots, so I was really just embracing him and telling him thank you,” Bacot said.
Thanks to Davis, who took over down the stretch and finished with 25 points, North Carolina beat Pittsburgh 72-65 on Friday night, winning an eighth consecutive game and moving into the driver's seat for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. He and Bacot scored UNC's final 18 points of the game.
“Just super excited to get a chance to play in the championship,” said Bacot, who had 19 points and 11 rebounds. “It was a tough game, and it got close down in the stretch and I think me and RJ just really wanted to make plays so we can win the game.”
The Tar Heels' path to one of the four NCAA top seeds cleared with a couple of results elsewhere: fifth-ranked Tennessee losing 73-56 to Mississippi State in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals and No. 6 Arizona getting beat by Oregon in the Pac-12 semis.
UNC (27-6, 17-3) still had to take care of business against an opponent in Pitt (22-11, 12-8), with a strong NCAA Tournament case playing to lock up a spot.
The Panthers led by as many as nine in the first half and kept punching back until late, tying it at 62 with about four minutes left until Davis hit just his second 3-pointer to put the Tar Heels ahead.
After seven lead changes throughout, they never trailed again, with Davis grabbing a crucial rebound and hitting a long 3 in the final minutes to help put it away. The unanimous ACC player of the year scored 19 points in the second half.
“The player of the year stepped up and made plays,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. “You have to tip your hat to him. He made a deep 3, a 28-footer, some pullups. He just made plays.”
Tenth-seeded North Carolina State is up next in the final on Saturday night after beating Virginia 73-65 in overtime. It's UNC's first appearance in the final since 2018, and one more victory would give the program its first ACC Tournament title since 2016 when it was also held in Washington.
“We set goals in the beginning of the year, and for us to be one more game away means a lot,” Davis said. “But the job’s not finished.”
Roy Williams, the Tar Heels' coach at the time who led them to three national championships, fittingly watched in the first row at halfcourt in Carolina blue. And he was far from alone, with UNC fans making up most of the crowd for the semifinals 24 hours after rival Duke was eliminated.
Carlton Carrington led Pitt with 24 points, and Jaland Lowe had 17. Even with the loss, the Panthers stand a good chance of making the NCAA Tournament after beating Wake Forest in the quarterfinals and giving one of the nation's top teams all it could handle.
“We'll see if we're in,” Capel said.
Guard Ishmael Leggett added, “I 100% believe that we’re an NCAA Tournament team, regardless of what anybody says."
BIG PICTURE
Pitt: Capel thinks his team this year has a better resume than 2022-23, when it reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. “We have become a really good basketball team,” Capel said. “We could be a team that could be dangerous in the tournament.”
UNC: The Tar Heels are rounding into form at the perfect time to make their top-seed case to the selection committee and look poised to make a deep NCAA Tournament run. With Davis and Bacot trading back and forth the Batman and Robin roles and plenty of complementary players able to step up, UNC is going to be a tough out against anyone.
UP NEXT
While Pitt sweats out Selection Sunday, UNC will play for the 19th ACC Tournament championship in program history on Saturday against North Carolina State.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | Federiko Federiko vs. Armando Bacot (Panthers gains possession) | |||
19:42 | Blake Hinson misses two point jump shot | |||
19:40 | Elliot Cadeau defensive rebound | |||
19:14 | Harrison Ingram turnover (bad pass) | |||
19:01 | +2 | Carlton Carrington makes two point jump shot | 2-0 | |
18:45 | RJ Davis misses three point jump shot | |||
18:43 | Zack Austin defensive rebound | |||
18:33 | Armando Bacot blocks Zack Austin's two point layup | |||
18:31 | Jaland Lowe offensive rebound | |||
18:31 | Jaland Lowe misses three point jump shot | |||
18:29 | Zack Austin offensive rebound | |||
18:29 | Elliot Cadeau personal foul (Zack Austin draws the foul) | |||
18:25 | Blake Hinson turnover (lost ball) (Cormac Ryan steals) | |||
18:20 | +2 | Elliot Cadeau makes two point layup (Harrison Ingram assists) | 2-2 | |
18:00 | Zack Austin misses three point jump shot | |||
17:58 | Harrison Ingram defensive rebound | |||
17:50 | +2 | Armando Bacot makes two point layup (RJ Davis assists) | 2-4 | |
17:50 | Federiko Federiko shooting foul (Armando Bacot draws the foul) | |||
17:50 | +1 | Armando Bacot makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 2-5 | |
17:38 | +2 | Federiko Federiko makes two point layup (Carlton Carrington assists) | 4-5 | |
17:29 | Elliot Cadeau misses two point layup | |||
17:27 | Harrison Ingram offensive rebound | |||
17:10 | +3 | Cormac Ryan makes three point jump shot (Harrison Ingram assists) | 4-8 | |
16:52 | Jaland Lowe misses two point jump shot | |||
16:50 | Cormac Ryan defensive rebound | |||
16:38 | Federiko Federiko personal foul (Armando Bacot draws the foul) | |||
16:27 | Elliot Cadeau misses three point jump shot | |||
16:25 | Jaland Lowe defensive rebound | |||
16:19 | +3 | Guillermo Diaz Graham makes three point jump shot (Jaland Lowe assists) | 7-8 | |
16:08 | Zack Austin blocks Cormac Ryan's three point jump shot | |||
16:06 | Guillermo Diaz Graham defensive rebound | |||
15:54 | +3 | Guillermo Diaz Graham makes three point jump shot (Jaland Lowe assists) | 10-8 | |
15:37 | Harrison Ingram misses three point jump shot | |||
15:35 | Guillermo Diaz Graham defensive rebound | |||
15:22 | +2 | Jaland Lowe makes two point layup | 12-8 | |
15:00 | Cormac Ryan misses three point jump shot | |||
14:58 | Carlton Carrington defensive rebound | |||
14:51 | +3 | Zack Austin makes three point jump shot (Jaland Lowe assists) | 15-8 | |
14:31 | RJ Davis misses three point jump shot | |||
14:29 | Zack Austin defensive rebound | |||
14:17 | Guillermo Diaz Graham offensive foul (Cormac Ryan draws the foul) | |||
14:17 | Guillermo Diaz Graham turnover (offensive foul) | |||
14:17 | TV timeout | |||
13:59 | Armando Bacot misses two point layup | |||
13:57 | Jae'Lyn Withers offensive rebound | |||
13:52 | Cormac Ryan misses two point layup | |||
13:50 | Guillermo Diaz Graham defensive rebound | |||
13:25 | Blake Hinson misses two point layup | |||
13:23 | Armando Bacot defensive rebound | |||
13:08 | RJ Davis misses three point jump shot | |||
13:06 | Jaland Lowe defensive rebound | |||
12:56 | Jaland Lowe misses two point layup | |||
12:54 | Cormac Ryan defensive rebound | |||
12:47 | Armando Bacot misses two point layup | |||
12:45 | Guillermo Diaz Graham defensive rebound | |||
12:29 | +2 | Carlton Carrington makes two point layup | 17-8 | |
12:12 | +2 | Jae'Lyn Withers makes two point jump shot | 17-10 | |
11:45 | Ishmael Leggett misses three point jump shot | |||
11:43 | Jae'Lyn Withers defensive rebound | |||
11:31 | Jae'Lyn Withers offensive foul (Blake Hinson draws the foul) | |||
11:31 | Jae'Lyn Withers turnover (offensive foul) | |||
11:31 | TV timeout | |||
11:12 | Ishmael Leggett misses two point jump shot | |||
11:10 | Jalen Washington defensive rebound | |||
10:41 | +2 | Jalen Washington makes two point layup (Seth Trimble assists) | 17-12 | |
10:24 | Guillermo Diaz Graham misses three point jump shot | |||
10:22 | RJ Davis defensive rebound | |||
10:17 | +2 | RJ Davis makes two point layup | 17-14 | |
9:57 | +3 | Carlton Carrington makes three point jump shot (Guillermo Diaz Graham assists) | 20-14 | |
9:29 | Jae'Lyn Withers turnover (bad pass) | |||
9:12 | RJ Davis shooting foul (Carlton Carrington draws the foul) | |||
9:12 | +1 | Carlton Carrington makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 21-14 | |
9:12 | +1 | Carlton Carrington makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 22-14 | |
8:50 | +3 | Seth Trimble makes three point jump shot (Armando Bacot assists) | 22-17 | |
8:19 | Guillermo Diaz Graham misses two point layup | |||
8:17 | Armando Bacot defensive rebound | |||
7:58 | Guillermo Diaz Graham shooting foul (Harrison Ingram draws the foul) | |||
7:58 | TV timeout | |||
7:58 | +1 | Harrison Ingram makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 22-18 | |
7:58 | Harrison Ingram misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
7:58 | Panthers defensive rebound | |||
7:31 | +2 | Carlton Carrington makes two point jump shot | 24-18 | |
7:19 | Elliot Cadeau misses three point jump shot | |||
7:17 | Cormac Ryan offensive rebound | |||
7:03 | Elliot Cadeau misses two point jump shot | |||
7:01 | Blake Hinson defensive rebound | |||
6:43 | Federiko Federiko offensive foul (Cormac Ryan draws the foul) | |||
6:32 | +2 | RJ Davis makes two point jump shot (Elliot Cadeau assists) | 24-20 | |
6:32 | Ishmael Leggett shooting foul (RJ Davis draws the foul) | |||
6:32 | RJ Davis misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
6:32 | William Jeffress defensive rebound | |||
6:14 | Cormac Ryan personal foul (Carlton Carrington draws the foul) | |||
6:04 | Harrison Ingram personal foul (Blake Hinson draws the foul) | |||
5:54 | Jaland Lowe misses three point jump shot | |||
5:52 | Elliot Cadeau defensive rebound | |||
5:48 | +2 | Armando Bacot makes two point dunk (Elliot Cadeau assists) | 24-22 | |
5:33 | Carlton Carrington misses three point jump shot | |||
5:31 | Elliot Cadeau defensive rebound | |||
5:26 | Zack Austin blocks Elliot Cadeau's two point layup | |||
5:24 | Tar Heels offensive rebound | |||
5:12 | Cormac Ryan misses two point jump shot | |||
5:10 | Harrison Ingram offensive rebound | |||
5:08 | +2 | Harrison Ingram makes two point layup | 24-24 | |
4:41 | +2 | Carlton Carrington makes two point jump shot | 26-24 | |
4:33 | Armando Bacot offensive foul (William Jeffress draws the foul) | |||
4:33 | Armando Bacot turnover (offensive foul) | |||
4:16 | Blake Hinson misses two point layup | |||
4:15 | Elliot Cadeau defensive rebound | |||
4:15 | William Jeffress personal foul (Elliot Cadeau draws the foul) | |||
4:15 | +1 | Elliot Cadeau makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 26-25 | |
4:15 | +1 | Elliot Cadeau makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 26-26 | |
3:55 | William Jeffress misses three point jump shot | |||
3:53 | Harrison Ingram defensive rebound | |||
3:46 | Zack Austin personal foul (RJ Davis draws the foul) | |||
3:46 | TV timeout | |||
3:46 | +1 | RJ Davis makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 26-27 | |
3:46 | +1 | RJ Davis makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 26-28 | |
3:30 | +2 | Jaland Lowe makes two point layup | 28-28 | |
3:15 | Elliot Cadeau turnover (bad pass) (Guillermo Diaz Graham steals) | |||
3:02 | Carlton Carrington misses three point jump shot | |||
3:00 | Tar Heels defensive rebound | |||
2:33 | Elliot Cadeau turnover (traveling) | |||
2:22 | Carlton Carrington misses two point layup | |||
2:20 | Panthers offensive rebound | |||
2:16 | +3 | Carlton Carrington makes three point jump shot (Guillermo Diaz Graham assists) | 31-28 | |
1:59 | Elliot Cadeau misses two point layup | |||
1:57 | Guillermo Diaz Graham defensive rebound | |||
1:36 | Ishmael Leggett misses two point layup | |||
1:33 | Tar Heels defensive rebound | |||
1:18 | +2 | Armando Bacot makes two point layup (Seth Trimble assists) | 31-30 | |
0:55 | +2 | Jaland Lowe makes two point layup | 33-30 | |
0:42 | +3 | Harrison Ingram makes three point jump shot (RJ Davis assists) | 33-33 | |
0:22 | +2 | Guillermo Diaz Graham makes two point layup | 35-33 | |
0:01 | RJ Davis misses two point layup | |||
0:00 | End of period |