North Carolina scoring record: Where RJ Davis' 42 points vs. Miami ranks in Tar Heels history
Heading into Monday night’s game against Miami, RJ Davis was already putting together one of the better individual seasons in recent North Carolina history, a resume that had made him the runaway favorite for ACC Player of the Year honors.
Against the Hurricanes, he surpassed that already high bar he has set for himself.
Davis scored a career-high 42 points for the Tar Heels in a 75-71 victory against Miami at the Dean Smith Center in a game in which they needed every bit of that production. The senior guard from White Plains, New York had been superb for much of the season, scoring at least 20 points in 17 of his team’s first 27 games, but Monday night represented something else entirely.
REQUIRED READING: Why Hubert Davis said UNC's game vs. Miami was ‘great teaching moment’
“He was fantastic,” North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said after the game. “I told him after the game that I’ve seen a number of performances here at Carolina and also in the NBA. Very few have I seen the type of performance that he had tonight. I was really proud of him.”
On a team fighting for an ACC regular-season title and NCAA Tournament seeding, Davis lifted the Tar Heels on a night in which many of those around him weren’t at their best.
While Davis made 14 of his 22 shots (63.6%), the seven other North Carolina players who entered the game Monday combined to go just 13 of 39 (33.3%). In the win, he actually outscored the rest of his team 42-33, becoming the first Tar Heels player to do so since Jan. 29, 1983 — when some sophomore guard named Michael Jordan had 39 of his team’s 72 points in a victory against Georgia Tech.
RJ Davis outscored all other Tar Heels, 42-33, in the win over Miami.
It was the first time a Tar Heel outscored the rest of the team since 1/29/83, when Michael Jordan scored a career-high 39 of UNC's 72 points vs. Georgia Tech.
Postgame notes ⤵️https://t.co/eIlxW08t9T— Carolina Basketball Stats & Info (@UNCMBBStats) February 27, 2024
Just how good was Davis’ outing? Here’s where his scoring total ranks in North Carolina and Smith Center history:
Highest-scoring games in North Carolina history
Davis’ 42 points against Miami marked the 18th time in North Carolina’s illustrious basketball history that a player scored at least 40 points in a game. No men’s player at the school had reached the 40-point mark since Harrison Barnes in March 2011.
Against the Hurricanes, Davis scored more points than any Tar Heels player since Shammond Williams against Georgia Tech on Feb. 8, 1998 — and that came in double overtime (though Williams managed to score that many points on a roster loaded with future NBA players, namely Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison).
The 42 points are tied with Williams for the 10th-most in North Carolina history. Here’s the full list:
1. 49: Bob Lewis vs. Florida State, Dec. 16, 1965
2. 48: Billy Cunningham vs. Tulane, Dec. 10, 1964
3. 47: Lennie Rosenbluth vs. Furman, Dec. 3, 1956
T-4. 45: Lennie Rosenbluth vs. Clemson, March 7, 1957
T-4. 45: Lennie Rosenbluth vs. William & Mary, Feb. 7, 1956
T-4. 45: Lennie Rosenbluth at Clemson, Jan. 14, 1956
T-4. 45: George Glamack vs. Clemson, Feb. 10, 1941
T-8. 43: Charlie Scott vs. Wake Forest, Jan. 17, 1970
T-8. 43: Bob Lewis vs. Richmond, Dec. 8, 1965
T-10. 42: Shammond Williams at Georgia Tech, Feb. 8, 1998
T-10. 42: RJ Davis vs. Miami, Feb. 26, 2024
T-12. 41: Kenny Smith at Clemson, Jan. 28, 1987
T-12. 41: Charlie Scott vs. Virginia, March 5, 1970
T-14. 40: Harrison Barnes vs. Clemson, March 12, 2011
T-14. 40: Tyler Hansbrough vs. Georgia Tech, Feb. 15, 2006
T-14. 40: Charlie Scott vs. Duke, March 8, 1969, in Charlotte
T-14. 40: Billy Cunningham vs. Maryland, Jan. 13, 1964
T-14. 40: Lennie Rosenbluth at Duke, March 1, 1957
REQUIRED READING: UNC basketball’s RJ Davis strengthens case as ACC’s top player in Tar Heels' win vs. Miami
Highest-scoring games at the Dean Smith Center
While Davis didn’t set a North Carolina single-game scoring record, his extraordinary performance did put him atop another list.
Davis’ 42 points are the most by a Tar Heels player ever at the Smith Center, which opened in January 1986.
Prior to Monday, the only North Carolina player to have scored at least 40 points at the Smith Center was Tyler Hansbrough, who had 40 points as a freshman in an 82-75 victory against Georgia Tech on Feb. 15, 2006.
RJ Davis stats
Monday’s win was the highlight of what has been a revelatory senior season for Davis, who does have a waiver for one more year of eligibility beyond this season, should he choose to use it.
The 6-foot guard is averaging 21.7 points, 3.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game this season while shooting 43.1% from the field and 41.1% from 3-point range.
He’s first among ACC players and tied for seventh among all Division I men’s players in points per game. Among players from the sport’s six major conferences, he’s behind only reigning national player of the year Zach Edey, who’s averaging 23.7 points per game.
If the season ended today, he’d have the eighth-highest points-per-game-average in program history and the highest since Charlie Scott averaged 27.1 points per game during the 1969-70 season.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Where do RJ Davis' 42 points rank in UNC basketball single-game history?
