CHAPEL HILL – UNC basketball coach Hubert Davis was ready to rock his No. 40 jersey on Friday at the Smith Center.

Ahead of the seventh-ranked Tar Heels’ 96-81 win against Virginia Tech on Saturday, Davis was fired up in the pre-game press conference when asked what an ACC regular-season championship would mean for UNC in his third season as the program’s leader.

“The bad part about it is I’m 53 and I can’t play,” Davis said.

Aiming for their first outright ACC regular-season title since 2017, the Tar Heels (20-6, 12-3 ACC) remain in control of the race with five games remaining in the regular season.

“It’s important,” Davis said five times before moving on to his next thought. “It means something to us, it means something to this program, and I let the guys know that. … It means a great deal to us.”

UNC basketball’s Hubert Davis reminded Tar Heels they’re ACC leaders

In reaffirming the goal and focus required to finish the job as an ACC champion, Davis highlighted several factors.

“You have to know where you are, so I let ‘em know where we were in terms of (record) … but also, what we’re fighting for,” Davis said. “That means a great deal to me and a great deal to us, in terms of having an opportunity and chance to compete for an ACC regular-season title.”

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Even with the fourth-most experienced roster at the Division I level, according to KenPom.com, Davis reiterated that this group hasn’t previously been in this position: first place atop the ACC standings coming down the stretch.

That’s why he makes it a point “every day to get them to understand what’s at stake, what’s real and what’s important.”

Armando Bacot said those conversations in the wake of three losses in a five-game stretch “really made a difference” for the Tar Heels.

“It’s a lot of fun, but we’ve learned a lot of lessons too,” Bacot said. “Being in the position we’re in, we go into these environments not really understanding we’re a lifeline for teams in the ACC, in the sense where if they beat us, it helps their season.”

Harrison Ingram, a Stanford transfer who was on a team that finished with a losing record last season, is learning things are a lot different in Carolina blue.

“The biggest thing for me is how hard every game is,” Ingram said. “. … Here, all these teams, we could be a marquee win and give them a chance to go to the tournament. We’re getting everybody’s best shot.”

There was never any panic, just lessons to learn and apply. Davis’ message to the Tar Heels served as a reminder that everything remains in front of them.

“He said that in a sense of not letting us get down,” Ingram said. “At the end of the day, the truth was that we’re still No. 1, we’re still solely No. 1.”

Now, UNC gets a week off before traveling to No. 21 Virginia (20-6, 11-4) on Feb. 24. There are other games on the schedule, but the Heels close the season at No. 9 Duke (20-5, 11-3) on March 9. The Cavaliers and Blue Devils appear to be the top challengers to UNC.

“As long as we tighten up the little details that we’ve been making mistakes on, we’ll be right there in March, right there in Phoenix (at the Final Four),” RJ Davis said.

“We just gotta understand that we’re North Carolina and teams are gonna come at us. You gotta have the mindset of going after teams and setting the tone first.”

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter. 

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: How UNC basketball avoided panic, stayed atop ACC standings