With key players sidelined, one Tar Heel star voiced frustration post-loss, sparking team discussions coach guarded closely.
No. 16 North Carolina was without major star power against NC State on Tuesday night.
It showed.
Star freshman Caleb Wilson did not play against the Wolfpack as he recovers from a hand injury. Henri Veesaar was ruled out before the game with a lower-body injury.
Veesaar (16.4) and Wilson (19.8) lead the Tar Heels in points per game this season.
On Tuesday night, UNC had a hard time getting shots to fall. NC State shot 48 percent from the field to North Carolina's 32 percent in a 82-58 win for the Wolfpack in front of 19,367 fans at Lenovo Center.
During his news conference after the game, UNC head coach Hubert Davis was asked what Wilson said to his teammates after the game. Wilson was apparently "vocal" after the lopsided defeat.
Davis didn't want to say.
"I'm not going to share that," Davis said, via 247Sports. "I mean, I respect your question. I really do. And I do. I think it's a great question.
"Where I'm coming from is I think there are things that are said between us as a team that should stay between us as a team. But I think that's a great question. That needs to be shared with just us."
Davis said there were a "number" of players who talked after the game. Clearly, the 24-point loss to NC State doesn't sit right with the Tar Heels, even if they were without their best scorers.
Davis didn't think his players showed a "competive fight" against the Wolfpack. He thought the defense needed to be much better.
"There's no other way," Davis said. "There's no other road. There's no other route. It starts with us with defense and rebounding. That's what leads us to really good offense.
"We weren't tough enough. We weren't good enough on the defensive end. Now, we did get offensive rebounds, but the physical presence that you have to have defensively, we just didn't do that."
North Carolina dropped to 20-6 overall and 8-5 in ACC play. The Tar Heels will travel to play Syracuse (15-12) on Saturday.
On Monday, Davis said Wilson was expected to return soon. He's expected to play games with a cast on his non-shooting hand.
The Tar Heels need him back before taking on Louisville and Virginia Tech next week.