CHAPEL HILL — To paraphrase Bill Belichick, UNC basketball is on to Charlotte and New York City.
Following the Tar Heels’ 93-67 blowout victory against La Salle on Saturday at the Smith Center, where Belichick was introduced as the UNC football coach during a halftime ceremony, veteran guards Seth Trimble and RJ Davis looked ahead at an important week.
UNC (6-4, 1-0 ACC) plays No. 9 Florida (10-0) in the Jumpman Invitational on Tuesday at Spectrum Center in Charlotte. Following that game, the Tar Heels head to New York City for a matchup with No. 24 UCLA (9-1) as part of the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden.
With an 0-3 record against ranked teams this season, including double-digit losses to No. 2 Auburn (9-1) and No. 7 Alabama (7-2), Trimble and Davis know the Tar Heels need a good showing this week to boost their nonconference resume for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
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“Two needs. We’re desperate for this. We really want it. I think we need to approach it as underdogs this week, honestly,” Trimble said. “We need to get back in the trenches, with a will, want-to, and a desperate will to win the game. When we do that, when we play together, I think we’re a really good basketball team. We know we need these two coming up.”
Reflecting on UNC’s poor start in nonconference play, with just one victory against a high-major team this season (vs. Georgia Tech to open ACC play), Trimble said he’s “absolutely” aware of the importance of UNC’s next two games.
“We know, just to be able to get a good seed to be able to put us in a more comfortable position, these nonconference games are super important,” Trimble said. “So, we know we haven’t started off strong with (nonconference games). … We know we gotta get these two back.”
Improved attention to detail and competition in practice, Davis said, along with energy and passion, were focuses for the Tar Heels throughout a full week of preparation ahead of their game against La Salle.
“That’s the thing that’s been missing sometimes from this team. That energy and passion, I think you saw it (against La Salle). Just have fun with it a little bit,” Davis said. “I think sometimes, as a team, we all feel the weight on our shoulders to be perfect and to just go there and not make mistakes. But it’s basketball, it’s gonna happen.”
UNC will continue to use a “one game at time approach,” Davis said, but he knows the Tar Heels have to play better in big games. That starts with a pair of opportunities against ranked teams this week.
“We know in this stretch of games coming up, it’s gonna be super hard. But I feel like we’re ready for it,” Davis said.
“After we won (against La Salle), it was just one down, two to go. That’s how we look at it, at the schedule so far. These next two games are really big for us. Florida’s a good team, UCLA’s a good team, so we’re gonna have to bring our A-game.”
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Seth Trimble, RJ Davis talk UNC basketball’s week vs Florida, UCLA
