UNC basketball coach Hubert Davis, players break down current state of Tar Heels

After playing six games in a two-week span, UNC basketball is in the middle of a 10-day break before the Tar Heels head to Atlanta for another big-time matchup with Kentucky.

Following an 87-76 loss to UConn at the Jimmy V Classic in New York, UNC (7-2, 1-0 ACC) returned to Chapel Hill for final exams. The break in the schedule also allows the Heels time to assess where they are at this early in the season.

“I think we've gotten better every day, I just do. I think we're getting better and have grown each and every practice and game. These next 10 days, they've got finals, but it's also an opportunity to work on us,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said after the loss to the Huskies at Madison Square Garden.

“This is something that I told the team in the last two and a half weeks we've been practicing, but we've been preparing for games. Now we have an opportunity to practice on us over the next 10 days. So I'm really excited about getting back and doing that.”

UNC basketball’s RJ Davis feels Tar Heels are ‘right there’

Senior guard RJ Davis thinks the Tar Heels are “right there” as it relates to being the team they want to be in March. He’s certainly done his part as the team’s leader and leading scorer at 21 points per game.

With 26 points against UConn, Davis became the fifth Tar Heel to score 26 or more points in four straight games and the first to accomplish that feat in 53 years.

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“I’m really confident in this team, and I can only see positives from this,” RJ Davis said last week inside of a locker room at the Garden.

“We have a lot of newcomers, but what they bring to the table is something that we’ve been missing. So I think we’re not too far off. We’ve just got to tighten up the screws a little bit and be disciplined.”

Armando Bacot ‘fine’ with UNC’s progress to this point

Like RJ Davis, fellow veteran Armando Bacot is pleased with the progress he’s seen from the Tar Heels through nine games. The fifth-year center is averaging 15.9 points and 11.9 rebounds.

“I mean, if you had told me this at the beginning of the season we’d be right here, I’d be fine with it,” Bacot said of UNC’s record, which includes a pair of top-25 wins.

“Going to a school like Carolina, we play for national championships. It’s a long road.”

At this point last season, UNC was coming off a four-game losing streak before its ACC opener against Georgia Tech. When asked about team chemistry as UNC continues to figure out the roles of its seven newcomers, Bacot feels the squad is “fully meshed” on and off the court.

“We’re kind of figuring out our swag,” Bacot said. “RJ, he’s been killing it, (Harrison Ingram), everybody. We’re all just playing off each other. I think what’s so good about this team is we can take whatever the defense gives us.”

Defense, rebounding remain top priorities for Hubert Davis, UNC basketball

Despite its solid start, which includes a top-10 win against Tennessee, It’s not all rainbows and butterflies for UNC.

Following the UConn loss, Hubert Davis stressed the need for the Tar Heels to improve rebounding and defense. The numbers back up those concerns.

Through nine games, UNC is seventh in offensive efficiency and 49th in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com. The Final Four squad in Hubert Davis’ first season was 35th in defensive efficiency and UNC’s Final Four teams in 2016-17 were inside the top 21 teams in that category.

After finishing 356th and 344th in defensive turnover rate, the Tar Heels are 233rd in creating turnovers this season. UNC's last three national championship teams ranked in the 100s in that category.

As for rebounding, UNC is 91st in offensive rebounding percentage and 63rd in allowing teams to snag extra possessions on the offensive glass.

The Tar Heels were 59th and 119th in offensive rebounding percentage in the first two seasons under Davis. UNC was outside of the top 50 in offensive rebounding percentage once (2013) in its 18 seasons under Roy Williams.

If UNC is going to maximize its potential, it starts with improving defense and rebounding.

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

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Where UNC basketball stands through 9 games ahead of Kentucky matchup