CHAPEL HILL, NC – JANUARY 20: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels questions a call by the officials during their game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at the Dean Smith Center on January 20, 2016 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 83-68. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

The No. 5 North Carolina Tar Heels crushed the No. 11 Miami Hurricanes, 96-71, in college basketball action on Saturday at Dean Smith Center. On most days, a decisive win over a top-15 team would rate as a headline development. However, the main topic in Roy Williams’ postgame press conference was a set of remarks made by a television commentator before the game.

During the CBS pregame show, analyst Doug Gottlieb suggested that Williams would retire after the season, and then be replaced as head coach by former Tar Heels star Hubert Davis.

In the postgame press conference, Williams was irate over Gottlieb’s comments:

Gottlieb then responded on Twitter, saying he was not “reporting” anything in the pregame and simply speculating about Williams’ future, citing the 65-year-old’s recent health issues:

The possibility of future NCAA punishments against the Tar Heels — which might make North Carolina ineligible for the 2017 NCAA Tournament — also looms in the background as another reason why Gottlieb said what he said. Nevertheless, his comments — which did contain a speculative quality — possessed a level of precision regarding North Carolina’s succession plan if Williams does step down. If Williams was upset with Gottlieb, it’s easy to understand why.

If you’re curious about the incident Williams referred to above — involving Gottlieb’s “daggum pants” — here you go:

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

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