North Carolina men's basketball coach Hubert Davis knows which notes to hit with his team.

During an under-8 media timeout and with the Tar Heels trailing 28-20 with 7:34 remaining in the first half, CBS sideline reporter Allie LaForce interviewed Davis about his thoughts on the game. The third-year coach did not hold back.

"We got to get tougher," Davis said of North Carolina's efforts to LaForce. "They are catching the ball right underneath the basket. Until we meet the fight, then that's when things will turn around."

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Davis likely relayed the same message to his team in the huddle and the message was received. The Tar Heels outscored Michigan State 20-3 from that point to take a 40-31 halftime lead, which included the next 14 points coming out of the timeout before the Spartans next score.. The Tar Heels finished the half on a 23-3 run after trailing by as many as 12.

After North Carolina ultimately won 85-69, Davis revisited his fiery speech.

"I was pretty fired up," Davis said. "I just didn't feel like the competitive fire to start the game. They were more physical than us. Their will and their want-to overpowered us. And I said 'we can't even talk about basketball 'till we join the fight.' About the 10-minute mark of the first half, then they started competing. And everything turned for us."

Star guard R.J. Davis also talked about Davis' impact on the team. "I think it got us going," he said. "And Coach Davis does a good job just bringing the energy out of us. And we rely on that. And I think we responded well. We were able to cut the lead down in the first half. And went out and played our basketball."

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC basketball coach Hubert Davis implores his team to play tougher