Game Thread | North Carolina at Notre Dame
North Carolina (16-11, 8-8) at Notre Dame (10-17, 2-14)
Date: February 22nd
Time: 9:00 PM ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion | South Bend, Ind.
TV: ESPN | Dave O’Brien, Jordan Cornette, Angel Gray
Line: North Carolina -6.5
O/U: 148
QUICK FACTS
- North Carolina leads the all-time series 28-9
- The Irish lost 81-64 in Chapel Hill in January
- Nate Laszewski has averaged 24.3 ppg over the last four home games
- Notre Dame has lost five ACC games by one possession
- The Irish lead the country in turnovers per game at 8.7
PROJECTED STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Marcus Hammond | 8.9 | 2.7 | 3.1 |
| JJ Starling | 11.2 | 2.9 | 1.2 |
| Cormac Ryan | 11.5 | 4.0 | 2.5 |
| Ven-Allen Lubin | 6.2 | 4.3 | 0.4 |
| Nate Laszewski | 14.7 | 7.1 | 1.4 |
North Carolina
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| RJ Davis | 15.8 | 4.9 | 3.3 |
| Caleb Love | 17.2 | 3.4 | 2.9 |
| Leaky Black | 7.1 | 6.3 | 1.4 |
| Pete Nance | 9.6 | 6.0 | 1.5 |
| Armando Bacot | 17.3 | 11.1 | 1.5 |
Preview
| Category | North Carolina | Notre Dame |
| Points | 77.9 | 70.1 |
| Opponent Points | 72.6 | 72.0 |
| FG% | 43.9% | 44.9% |
| Rebounds | 39.6 | 30.9 |
| Assists | 12.1 | 12.0 |
| Blocks | 3.7 | 2.7 |
| Steals | 5.6 | 4.6 |
Notre Dame and North Carolina enter Wednesday night’s primetime matchup in spots neither expected to be in entering the season. The Tar Heels fell in the National Title game to Kansas and returned just about everyone off the roster, while Notre Dame returned its core and hoped to make a run at an ACC Title.
The Fighting Irish will enter the game seven games under .500 and a pitiful 2-14 in ACC play, but the Tar Heels might be even more of a disappointment at 16-11 overall and are currently projected as the first team out in Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology. 2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKETOLOGY
What should you expect?
Well, it’s anyone’s guess, but there has been one constant in ACC play this season (outside of Louisville). If you need to get back on track or beat your demons, Notre Dame has been the team to play.
North Carolina has lost five of its last six games, including back-to-back games to Miami and NC State. Wednesday is a must-win for Hubert Davis’ squad as they’ll host No. 6 Virginia on Saturday night.
In the first meeting, North Carolina cruised to a 13-point halftime lead and won 81-64. The Irish were beaten on the boards 45-32 and to have a shot, Mike Brey’s team will need to close that gap. North Carolina had 13 offensive rebounds and turned those into 12 points. All-American Armando Bacot has six of those offensive rebounds on his way to a game-high 13 rebounds.
Notre Dame will need to hit the three-ball, which they did in Chapel Hill as the Irish went 7-for-18 (38.9%), but the Irish will need to get the number of made threes into double digits on Wednesday. Nate Laszewski scored 16 points in the first meeting but took just one three and that will need to be higher.
The Irish will also need to find a way to get freshman guard JJ Starling going as he hasn’t scored in double figures in five games, including zero points in Saturday’s loss to Virginia. The good news is Starling has continued to attack the rim, but during the five-game stretch, he’s shooting just 13-for-39 from the field with just one made three (1-for-8).
A win won’t boost North Carolina’s NCAA Tournament resume, but a loss could certainly make life extremely tough for the Tar Heels to make the Big Dance. If North Carolina is motivated, it’s hard to see Notre Dame coming out on top as the Irish as they won’t have the offensive firepower. Yet, the Tar Heels are beatable and Notre Dame would love nothing more than to get Brey one more big win.
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