The Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center opened in January 1986 and has spent nearly four decades hosting basketball games featuring one great player after another. Tim Duncan played at the Dean Dome — as did Grant Hill, Len Bias, Christian Laettner, Chris Paul, JJ Redick, Stephon Marbury, Shane Battier, Jay Williams, Jayson Tatum, Zion Williamson and Paolo Banchero. And those are just the names of a few notable visitors. If you want to create an impressive list of Tar Heels, just Google “North Carolina Basketball All-Americans” and take your pick.
My point?
My point is that more elite players than I have time to name have played inside this 21,000-seat arena, and exactly none of them ever did what RJ Davis did Monday night. The fourth-year guard took 22 shots, made 14 of them and finished with a career-high 42 points in North Carolina’s 75-71 win over Miami. Those 42 points were split evenly between the two halves and represented the most points any player, home or away, has ever scored in the Smith Center.
“I kind of felt good most of the game,” Davis said. “Came out hot. I told myself since I had a good first half to continue to stay on it. I was aggressive and shots were falling. For me to have a performance like that tonight means the world to me.”
The four-point victory improved North Carolina to 22-6 overall, 14-3 in the ACC. The Tar Heels are one game ahead of Duke in the loss column of the league standings with three regular-season games remaining. They are No. 7 in Tuesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Purdue remains No. 1 for the seventh consecutive morning.
Tuesday’s Top 25 And 1 rankings
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