UNC Basketball vs. Notre Dame: Game preview, prediction and more
And just like that, college basketball season is coming to a close.
The regular-season portion, that is. Conference tournaments start this week, then on Tuesday, March 19 – March Madness.
Riding a 4-game win streak, the first-place UNC men’s basketball team is in a solid position. The Tar Heels struggled with weekday losses last month, but a rare victory at UVA changed their course.
Tuesday will mark a sad day for North Carolina, though, as it celebrates Senior Night. That means the last-ever home games for Armando Bacot and Cormac Ryan, so there’s bound to be extra motivation to win.
Notre Dame continues to struggle in its first year without Mike Brey, though the Fighting Irish are on a mini, 2-game winning streak. They’ve beaten two solid teams in Wake Forest and Clemson, looking to grab a third in Chapel Hill on Tuesday night.
UNC survived a scare from NC State over the weekend, as the Wolfpack built an 8-point halftime lead behind hot shooting. The Tar Heels came out of the locker room a completely different team, as it forced 15 straight missed from NC State at one point.
Though North Carolina is in position for a strong seed in the Big Dance, Tuesday could easily qualify as a trap game. If the Tar Heels aren’t careful, Saturday’s game against Duke will decide the ACC Tournament’s top seed.
Key to victory for UNC
Defend the perimeter.
It seems like in recent weeks, opposing teams have field days from downtown against UNC.
Syracuse shot 47 percent in its Feb. 13 upset victory over the Tar Heels, while NC State shot the same mark on Saturday, March 2. Notre Dame doesn’t have a single regular-minutes player shooting over 37.6 percent, so North Carolina might not have to worry about this as much.
UNC will want to be careful, though, as the Fighting Irish sport six players who shoot at least 30 percent from deep.
Something to watch
I’m intrigued to see how much Hubert Davis plays his seniors.
We know that Armando Bacot, RJ Davis and Cormac Ryan will play most of the game, but don’t forget about the likes of Jae’Lyn Withers, Paxson Wojcik, Creighton Lebo, Duwe Farris and Rob Landry.
I imagine Withers will see solid minutes off the bench and Wojcik might play more than he has recent, but there’s no telling about the other three. I remember when Roy Williams would sometimes start his seniors, then call a timeout for the regulars to come in.
What you need to know
WHAT? UNC (23-6, 15-3 ACC) vs. Notre Dame (15-13, 6-11)
WHEN? Tuesday, March 5 at 7 p.m. ET
WHERE? Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.
TV? ACC Network (Watch and stream the game live on WatchESPN)
RADIO? Sirius XM (Channel 193 or 385)
LINE? N/A
LAST MEETING? UNC won 63-59 on Feb. 22, 2023 in Notre Dame, Ind.
ALL-TIME SERIES? UNC leads, 29-9
PREDICTION? UNC 85, Notre Dame 67
