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NCAA Tournament Preview: Notre Dame Vs. North Carolina

NOTRE DAME (24-11) VS. NORTH CAROLINA (31-6)

Where: Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Rankings: North Carolina was ranked No. 3 in the final Associated Poll poll of the season.

Time/TV: 8:49 p.m. ET on TBS.

Last Meeting: The Tar Heels won 78-47 in the ACC Tournament semifinals March 11.

How They Got Here: North Carolina topped No. 16-seeded Florida Gulf Coast 83-67, No. 9-seeded Providence 85-66 and No. 5-seeded Indiana 101-86.

Common Opponents: The two did not share any non-conference foes.

The Irish and the Tar Heels split their regular season series 1-1.
The Irish and the Tar Heels split their regular season series 1-1.

• Notre Dame Notes

The Irish are coming off a 61-56 win over Wisconsin that capped a three-game stretch of incredible finishes.

Mike Brey’s crew scored eight points in the final 20 seconds to grab a 61-56 win over No. 7-seeded Wisconsin, spearheaded by a handful of big plays from junior guard Demetrius Jackson.

The Mishawaka, Ind., native scored on a layup with 19 seconds to play to pull Notre Dame within one (56-55) of the Badgers. He came away with the ball on a trap on the ensuing possession, scoring another quick layup to vault the Irish ahead 57-56.

After a stop and pair of V.J. Beachem free throws pushed Notre Dame ahead 59-56, Jackson stole the ball from Wisconsin’s Bronson Koenig before the Badgers had a chance for a three-point try to tie, securing a steal and sealing the win with free throws.

While it’s certainly been an electric three-game series for the Irish in the NCAA Tournament — also coming back from a 12-point deficit to beat Michigan, and defeating Stephen F. Austin on a tip-in with 1.5 seconds to play — there’s two sides to the coin of the thrilling finishes.

The flip side points out that Notre Dame has struggled in key identity areas of portions of each game, creating deficits that the Irish eventually have to overcome to notch wins.

Now, the Irish have to face top-seeded North Carolina, which has been playing as well as any team in the country down the stretch.

Head coach Mike Brey knows how the matchup looks on paper — especially after the 31-point defeat in the ACC Tournament — but he takes it all in stride.

His team has been here before.

“We’re ranked ninth of the final eight,” Brey quipped, regarding some media outlet rankings of the field and talk surrounding his team. “But we’re still the toughest team left.

“We’re the toughest team left in this thing. But I think we’ll be picked ninth.

“I love our group. I love our will to win. We have found ways to continually make things interesting and we’re excited about the challenge tomorrow.”


• North Carolina Notes

The Tar Heels are coming off a 101-86 demolition of No. 5-seeded Indiana, in which North Carolina held firm control of a double-digit lead for all of the second half, and led at some stages by 20.

They’ve won eight straight games over a list of opponents that included seven KenPom.com top-50 teams, winning a handful of those contests by large margins.

Roy Williams’ squad is ranked second nationally in offensive efficiency and 16th in defensive efficiency, creating a very balanced attack. They play incredibly fast on offense with an average possession length of 15.3 seconds per possession (15th nationally), yet maintain great control of the ball with just a 15.4 percent turnover rate (19th nationally).

They’re also anchored by a massive frontcourt that helps boast a 40.0 percent offensive rebounding rate (fourth nationally). Senior forward Brice Johnson ranks No. 1 in KenPom.com’s individual MVP category, averaging 16.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game on 61 percent shooting.

That frontcourt also helps the defense hold opponents to just 43.9 percent shooting (23rd nationally) on shots inside the arc.

“Each team changes from one week, one game, one month to the next,” Williams said. “We go up to South Bend and they kicked our tails. And they were more aggressive, greater intensity, greater effort. More concentration.

“And we get them in the tournament and it flipped. And both teams are familiar with each other. I don’t think there’s any advantage either way because it’s the same for both teams. If I had a spy inside the Notre Dame office that told me what they did in practice every day that would be an advantage. But we played two games out in the middle of God and everybody. So it’s the same thing.

“The biggest factor in the game is who is going to play the best [tonight]. And who is going to have the concentration and the focus.”


• Outlook

Notre Dame has continued to struggle in identity areas, which is a major concern entering this matchup against a UNC team that is playing like they’re on a mission.

Certainly, there’s something to be said for digging deep to find a way to win when your strengths aren’t working — but at some point, that feels unsustainable.

And yet, here we are. We keep making that point, and the Irish keep winning. They did beat North Carolina once this year, and the rematch was back-and-forth until a massive UNC run in the closing minutes of the first half.

We’ll see if Brey’s crew has a little Irish magic left on this Easter Sunday.

• Prediction: UNC 82, Notre Dame 71.

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