Memorable Irish Season Ends With 88-74 Defeat To UNC
Technically, Notre Dame was not victorious on Sunday night in the Wells Fargo Center.
That distinction goes to the North Carolina Tar Heels, who behind 25 points from Brice Johnson defeated the Irish 88-74 to earn a spot in the Final Four.
And make no mistake, Notre Dame’s mood in the postgame locker room was far from content.
There was disappointment. There was dissatisfaction. These guys left it all on the floor each night in the NCAA Tournament, finding ways time and again to dig out a win when the outcome appeared bleak.
But let’s not forget — it’s been a heck of a year.
Numerous electric victories highlighted this season, so many that it wouldn’t be easy to narrow down a list to just a top five.
While they may not have felt it Sunday night — instead, dejected after falling short of advancing to Houston — this Irish team set out to create their own mark this season, one separate from the squad led by former stars Jerian Grant and Pat Connaughton last year.
In that respect, they succeeded, etching their own legacy into the Notre Dame history books.
Experts overwhelmingly predicted the Tar Heels to win Sunday night’s matchup, and for good reason. North Carolina defeated Notre Dame 78-47 in the ACC Tournament semifinals March 11.
Roy Williams’ squad boasts a massive frontcourt that has crushed teams on the glass all season. On Sunday night, they finished 28 of 39 (71.8 percent) on two-point shots and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds, an especially high number after sinking shots at an efficient clip.
Still, Notre Dame battled. The squads traded baskets most of the first half, and the Irish trailed just 43-38 at halftime after controlling the pace in the initial period, limiting the Heels to just 28 possessions in the first 20 minutes.
“We were in it,” Mike Brey said. “You saw it.
“We were grinding that thing, single digits on the clock, ball screening then for Demetrius [Jackson] or Matt Farrell. I thought we did a good job of getting V.J. [Beacham] in a ball screen because they had a big on him. So we tried to get him up in a ball screen because they were playing two bigs at the time.
“I loved where we were at halftime. We had a hard time stopping them, but we were flowing a little bit. The possessions were down.”
Just 3:28 into the second half, though, Brey did not love where his team was at. UNC opened the final 20 minutes on a 6-2 run to grab a nine-point lead, forcing the Irish head coach to call a timeout.
The Tar Heels jumped ahead by 11 before Notre Dame started chipping away at the deficit.
Back-to-back baskets from Demetrius Jackson — after the junior appeared to suffer a minor injury, hobbling off the court during a timeout on the floor — cut the deficit to six (51-45).
A basket and free throw from Zach Auguste trimmed it to three. Two free throws from Steve Vasturia after North Carolina’s Brice Johnson was called for a technical foul got it to one.
Notre Dame finally broke through to grab a one-point lead on a Bonzie Colson bucket, capping a 12-0 run to go ahead 52-51 with 12:57 to play.
That’d be the last time the Irish led, though. UNC put its collective foot down, responding with a 12-0 run to go back ahead by 11.
There was no doubt the Irish left it all on the floor in a well-played 27 minutes — but they’d never quite get back in this one, with the Tar Heels scoring bucket after bucket.
“We made the run and took the lead,” Brey said. “We were able to guard them a little bit better in the post with two big guys in.
“But as I said earlier before you came in, how they answered our one-point lead was championship-level stuff. I take my hat off to them. They made every big play.”
Junior forward V.J. Beachem capped his huge tournament with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3 of 5 from three-point range.
Auguste finished the final game of his Irish career with just five points and three rebounds, after playing just five minutes in the first half due to two early fouls.
Answering postgame questions in the Notre Dame locker room, the Marlborough, Mass., native was obviously disappointed in the outcome — but he admitted he was proud of what this team accomplished.
“Very proud man,” he said. “Coming off that season we had high expectations, and we did what we had to do. We made a great run, and a lot of guys played some great basketball.
“It was a lot of fun and it was a very memorable season. We fell short again, which is tough, but we have to look back at all the great things.”
Auguste is right. The Irish notched the first win in school history at Cameron Indoor Stadium, beat UNC 80-76 with ESPN’s College GameDay in the house, defeated Louisville at home and came back from 16 down to hand Duke an overtime loss in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.
The Irish also overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, got a go-ahead tip-in with 1.5 seconds to play to beat Stephen F. Austin, and posted a late 8-0 charge with in the final 20 seconds remaining to defeat Wisconsin and advance to the Elite Eight.
All great memories from this year.
And Auguste might be the only core player not returning for the Irish next year, pending Jackson’s decision to leave school early for professional ball. Brey suggested postgame the junior will declare for the NBA Draft and test the waters with the NBA Combine, but will keep the option open to return to school.
Vasturia, Beachem and Colson all return, as well as sophomore guard Matt Farrell — who played solid in The NCAA Tournament — and freshmen standouts Matt Ryan and Rex Pflueger.
Just like the holes Grant and Connaughton left in 2015, Auguste (and maybe Jackson’s) departure will also leave big shoes to fill.
But just like this year’s team overcame those losses to carve their own identity in the Irish record books, next year’s squad will have the same opportunity.
As long as Brey is at the helm, Notre Dame will be back.