The news just keeps getting worse for the North Carolina men's basketball team.
Fresh off a 64-54 loss to rival Duke in the midst of a 13-11 (2-7 ACC) season, UNC will be without sophomore forward Ed Davis for six weeks due to a broken wrist.
Davis broken his wrist in a "mid-floor collision" with 9:16 to play and the score tied at 43-43 against the Blue Devils, according to an email from the UNC athletic department. He stayed in the game the rest of the way.
“We’re all extremely disappointed for Ed and for our entire team,” coach Roy Williams said in a statement released through the e-mail.
“It’s hard to lose any starter, but when you lose someone likely for the rest of the season who does so many different things for your team it’s a significant loss. He’s our second-leading scorer, top rebounder, shot blocker and field goal percentage shooter, so it’s a huge blow to our team. However, we have to band together and try to overcome this latest adversity caused by injury.”
With only seven more games remaining in the regular season, Davis will likely be out for the season.
He averaged 13.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game this season, and has an ACC-leading 64 blocked shots.
His injury is the latest for UNC's big men. Freshman forward Travis Wear is out indefinitely with a severe ankle injury, and sophomore forward Tyler Zeller still is sidelined with a stress fracture in his right foot.
Williams said Zeller will participate in some straight-line running this week to test out his foot, but his return to basketball-related activities is at least a week away.
