UNC picked up a 63-59 win at Notre Dame on Wednesday to stay relevant in NCAA Tournament contention.
What happened?
North Carolina was off to a strong offensive start, putting up the first four points of the game and going unanswered for nearly six minutes.Graduate forward Pete Nance put up the first seven Tar Heel points for a 7-3 lead, but the Fighting Irish found rhythm on their home court to bring the game within one.
However, both teams struggled offensively. By the second media timeout, UNC was shooting just 19.0% from the field, with Notre Dame shooting just barely better at 21.1%. The Fighting Irish’s slightly superior shooting allowed them to take their first lead of the game at 16-15.
The Tar Heels’ defense struggled to pose a threat and the offense continued to fall short, going 0-11 from three in the first half and having the lowest field goal percentage in a half since 1980. A two-pointer shot just after the buzzer ended the half on a low note for North Carolina. By halftime, Notre Dame led 27-19 in this low-scoring matchup.
Senior forward Armando Bacot put up the first points of the second half to lessen the UNC deficit. The second half saw significantly more offensive action from the beginning. In the first five minutes of the half, 19 points were scored, 15 of which came from North Carolina as they retook the lead at 34-31.
With 11 minutes left to play, UNC had put up as many points in the nine minutes of the second half as they had in the entirety of the first half. Yet, North Carolina trailed by three.
From there, the lead went back and forth, with neither team ever leading by more than three points after the 17:00 minute mark. The Tar Heels’ offense saw significant improvement, but the defense failed to lock in to hold back the Fighting Irish.
When one minute remained on the clock, UNC led by a singular point, but pulled out a close 63-59 win in the final seconds.
