CHARLOTTE — A UNC ACC Tournament record seven made 3-pointers by Jae’Lyn Wither’s helped No. 5 seed North Carolina (21-12, 13-7 ACC) route 12th-seeded Notre Dame (15-18, 8-12 ACC), 76-56, in the second round of the ACC tournament on Wednesday afternoon at the Spectrum Center.
North Carolina had three players in double-figure scoring — Withers, RJ Davis, and Ven Allen-Lubin — to cement a balanced attack offensively.
“When you can have that versatility offensively, being able to score beyond the three and also points in the paint and be able to get to the free-throw line, that makes you really efficient on the offensive end,” head coach Hubert Davis said.
The Tar Heels began the game drilling five 3-pointers — three from Withers — and forced the Irish to call a timeout after five minutes of play. The 16-5 scoring run was punctuated by not-so-subtle UNC taunts towards the Notre Dame bench after each made triple.
“It was just us coming out [with] more swag and just more talking trash,” sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau said. “I think that’s something we should be doing more of.”
All five starters for North Carolina scored by the under-12 timeout, with Davis being the last to score and tallying his first point 11:16 minutes into the game.
The Tar Heels tallied another large run midway through the first half. Two more threes by Withers, paired with two baskets by junior forward Ven Allen-Lubin, helped UNC to a 10-0 run.
North Carolina’s defense held Notre Dame to 10-34 shooting from the floor and recorded four blocks around the basket. The stout rim protection helped UNC to a 43-29 lead at the break.
The frontcourt continued to be the focal point of the Tar Heel offense into the second half. Lubin joined Withers as the second UNC big man in double figures, recording three layups shortly after the break.
