Hoops Preview: Notre Dame vs. No. 2 North Carolina
NOTRE DAME (15-7, 6-4 ACC) VS. NORTH CAROLINA (19-3, 8-1 ACC)
Where: Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Ind.
Rankings: The Tar Heels are ranked No. 2 nationally in the AP poll; the Irish are unranked.
Time/TV: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
Last Meeting: This is the 25th meeting all-time between the two teams, with the Irish trailing 6-18 all-time in the series. Notre Dame won the last meeting 90-82 in the ACC Championship game on March 14, 2015.
Notre Dame Notes
The Irish are coming off a 79-70 loss at Miami which was not as close as the ending score indicates. Notre Dame hung around in the first half of the contest, but never seemingly challenged in the second, trailing by as much as 20 points with under eight minutes to play before the final margin.
A major takeaway from the game was more struggles for the Notre Dame defense, who let Miami make 25-of-39 two-point field goals (64 percent) enroute to the blowout win. Their defensive efficiency still ranks 227th nationally on Kenpom.com, which is easily among the worst in the ACC.
Strangely enough though, the Irish's offense keeps plugging along. Even after a mediocre [by their standards] 1.06 points per possession in the loss to the Hurricanes, Notre Dame's offense has returned to the top spot in the country, ranking ahead of Duke, Oklahoma and North Carolina in that order.
That No. 1 nationally productivity will have to show on Saturday to hang with visiting No. 2 UNC, who [as mentioned] can also score at a high rate.
Demetrius Jackson — Leading the team in scoring (16.0 points), assists (5.2) and steals (1.5) per game.
Steve Vasturia — Averaging a team-high 35.3 minutes per game.
A.J. Burgett — Looking to make his third-straight start of the season after previously playing largely in a reserve role.
V.J. Beachem — Made 54 of 125 three-point attempts (43.2 percent) so far this season.
Zach Auguste — Averaging a double-double with 13.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.
North Carolina Overview
The Tar Heels are coming off a 71-65 defeat at Louisville that handed them their first conference loss. Prior to that Feb. 1 game, North Carolina had won their first eight ACC matchups.
They're ranked No. 4 overall on Kenpom.com, which makes them the second-highest ranked opponent Notre Dame has faced this season. Surprisingly, the Iowa Hawkeyes -who the Irish defeated on a neutral floor earlier this season - check in at No. 1 nationally on the website after an 18-4 start to the season.
Offensively UNC checks in at No. 4 in the country, spearheaded by an uptempo attack with a team that checks in at 32nd nationally in pace. That number is a bit misleading though, as the Tar Heels actually rank 13th in the country in pace on offense - but teams try hard to slow them down, evidenced by them ranking 320nd nationally in defensive pace.
They excel most on the offensive side of the ball by cleaning up the glass, checking in at eighth in the country in offensive rebounding rate. Led by senior point guard Marcus Paige, they're also outstanding in not turning the ball over, despite playing at a frantic pace.
Defensively, they are still very good at 38th nationally. There aren't any defensive statistics that really stick out, but UNC does a good job at being well-rounded on that end of the floor, and don't struggle in many places either.
Outlook
Notre Dame prides itself on being a bounce-back team, and they truly own that identity. The Irish haven't lost back-to-back games since the end of the 2013-14 season.
So it's not hard to envision them pulling off the upset on Saturday, even after how poorly they just played at Miami. But when it comes time to put it in ink, I have to side with the Tar Heels.
Prediction: North Carolina 88, Notre Dame 81