Game Thread | Notre Dame at North Carolina

Notre Dame (3-5, 0-2) at North Carolina (5-4, 0-2)

Date: January 2nd

Time: 4:00 p.m. ET

Where: Dean E. Smith Center | Chapel Hill, N.C.

TV:  ACC Network | Doug Sherman and Cory Alexander 

Line: UNC -10.5

Quick Facts 

- Mike Brey is 4-10 against Roy Williams and North Carolina all-time. 

- UNC leads the all-time series 25-8.

- Junior forward Nate Laszewski leads all major conference players in field goal percentage (min 5 FGM per game) at .662

- The Irish are seventh in the country in free throw percentage at .813. Trim that national list to teams that have played at least eight games and Notre Dame is fourth in the country.

- Junior guards Prentiss Hubb (37.6) and Dane Goodwin (36.9) both lead all ACC players in minutes played per game in 2020-21.

- 25-8. The Irish are looking to win two consecutive games against UNC for the second time in program history and the Mike Brey era (Notre Dame won three straight over UNC spanning the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons).

THE STARTERS

Notre Dame

North Carolina 

Preview

Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 72.3
North Carolina: 73.6

Opponent Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 75.3
North Carolina: 68.6

FG%
Notre Dame: 44.9%
North Carolina: 43.6%

Rebounds Per Game
Notre Dame: 33.3
North Carolina: 44.4

Assists Per Game
Notre Dame: 14.3
North Carolina: 13.4

Blocks Per Game
Notre Dame: 3.4
North Carolina: 4.8

Steals Per Game
Notre Dame: 3.3
North Carolina: 6.2

The oddsmakers are confident in this one as the Tar Heels open as -10.5 favorites, which I believe is the biggest of the year, so it seems a little odd. Trey Wertz will miss the game for Notre Dame has he deals with an ankle injury he suffered on Wednesday, but Mike Brey expects him back in a week or two. 

This game was thrown together on Thursday, so there isn’t a ton of prep time, but the Tar Heels are far from the program they’ve been in recent years. 

North Carolina has struggled this year and it has made Roy Williams switch his starting lineup. Caleb Love, Leaky Black and Garrison Brooks went to the bench for Kerwin Walton, Andrew Platek and Day’Ron Sharpe the last game, so it’s a guess who will start for the Tar Heels on Saturday. 

For Notre Dame, this comes down to scoring the ball in Chapel Hill. It starts with getting Prentiss Hubb back on track mentally and physically. The Irish need Hubb to lock in from the start and be aggressive. He’s the best player on the floor and while he’s had a nice year, Hubb has also looked uninterested over the last few games at times. 

Brey also needs to get Dane Goodwin and Cormac Ryan going. Goodwin has been consistent, but he might need more action run through him on Saturday. Ryan has struggled and Brey admitted it might be on him for expediting his minutes before he was ready as he’s only played 31 collegiate games. 

"I think Cormac Ryan is still kind of finding himself,” explained Brey. “We gotta help him. Of those seven guys that were in the rotation, he's the youngest. He didn't play a whole lot at Stanford and missed half a season. He's still a young player.

"I think I realized that after game two and have tried to coach him differently and teach and be patient with him." 

It’s expected Juwan Durham will start in Chapel Hill, but not a given. Durham is coming off his best game of the season and was active on both ends of the floor against Virginia. However, the loss of Wertz hurts Notre Dame’s depth and playing two bigs at the same time could put the Irish behind the 8-ball if Durham or Nate Laszewski get into foul trouble. 

I haven’t picked Notre Dame to win an ACC game in a while and I’m going to pick them today. North Carolina has struggled and they don’t have Cole Anthony this year. 

Prediction: Notre Dame 73 North Carolina 69