I guess there was a reasonable explanation for Ed Davis's poor play down the stretch in the Duke game. From the 9:16 mark in the second half on, he was playing with a broken wrist. The wrist was fractured when he hit the floor during a collision with Kyle Singler – Singler was called for the foul and Davis missed both free throws, since, you know, he'd just broken his wrist. Understandably, Davis didn't score the rest of the game, and I apologize for the rather uncharitable thoughts I had about him after the game..
Davis is out for the season, naturally, and joins Tyler Zeller, who is just being reintroduced to practice drills, and Travis Wear, out with a sprained ankle, in suits on the bench. UNC's front court, incredibly deep at the start of the season, is now reduced to Thompson, Henson, and David Wear, of which only Thompson has played the entire season in the 4 or 5 spot. Henson has moved to a more expanded role in the four in recent weeks, but like Wear has spent more of the season at small forward than anywhere else.
This is probably the most significant of what has been a ridiculous number of injuries plaguing the Heels this season, and will make defending Tracy Smith, N.C. State's most dangerous weapon, an incredibly difficult task on Saturday. The Heels lost the last game Davis missed by thirteen to Wake Forest, and have noticably struggled since as he overcame the ankle injury that sidelined him. It's not quite the disaster losing Sean May in the 2003 season was, but it definitely makes an already painful season that much more grueling. Here's hoping Carolina can bounce back.