Defensive effort powers UNC over Notre Dame, 81-64
UNC went full throttle on the defensive end in a 81-64 victory over Notre Dame.
Coming into Saturday's late-morning match up, the Fighting Irish were attempting 23 threes per game and had the second-best three-point percentage in the ACC at 37.7 percent.
The Tar Heels' opponents have been lighting it up from deep this season, shooting 34.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Against Notre Dame, however, UNC didn't allow the three-pointer to be a problem, nor did it allow any aspect of its opponent's offense to prosper. The Tar Heels put up one of their better defensive performances of the season to pull out their second straight win, dominating the game from blocks to steals and to rebounds.
Seth Trimble making his first start at UNC helped set the defensive tone early, especially in the backcourt.
Early on, the Tar Heels ran Notre Dame's shooters off the three point line, closely defending guards and deep threats at the top of the key. The Fighting Irish didn't attempt a three in the first six minutes and 50 seconds of the game, and they finished shooting well below their average attempts (18) with 10 coming in the second half.
UNC forced them to score from mid-range jumpers or driving layups, and that's where the forwards came in with their rim protection and ability to affect shots. Armando Bacot swatted two layups along with Leaky Black and Trimble having two blocks a-piece.
On top of that, the Tar Heels dominated on the boards, out-rebounding Notre Dame 45-32. It was clear UNC just wanted the ball more with its guards often running in to grab rebounds and falling on the floor for loose balls. R.J. Davis, who has been a solid rebounder this season, led the guards with five boards.
The backcourt also created numerous takeaways through steals. Black, Davis and Caleb Love combined for all seven of the team's steals with Davis having a game-high of three.
Those turnovers turned into easy points in transition, another aspect of the game where UNC dominated its opponent nine points to four.
The Tar Heels have no doubt shown the ability to defend well against quality opponents this season, but they haven't quite done it like they did on Saturday.
UNC totally took away what Notre Dame did best while also providing the extra effort by diving for loose balls and doing a great job of getting back on defense in transition.
What makes this performance more impressive is that UNC faced a desperate Notre Dame team that badly needed an ACC win to help get its season going in the right direction.
Notre Dame was on a two-game losing streak and 0-4 in the ACC before facing UNC.
Ultimately, their hunger for a win didn't faze the Tar Heels who are now 11-5 overall and 3-2 in conference play.
