Good, Bad and Ugly From UNC's Win Over Notre Dame

North Carolina is back in the win column, ladies and gentlemen. UNC picked up a massive 91-69 victory over Notre Dame on Wednesday night.

This was a season-saving victory after how this month has been going for the Tar Heels. They still have work to do, but this is a great first step to get back the momentum.

Here is the good, bad and ugly from UNC vs. ND

Good: Caleb Wilson’s execution

Fans have been clamoring for the star player to be consistently involved in games. Due to the blowout, UNC did not need Caleb Wilson for the majority of the second half, but that was due to Wilson’s performance.

In past games, Wilson has had to fight for his buckets in the half-court, and there were no consistent actions run for him. It was a different story for Wilson against the Fighting Irish.

Wilson was trapped almost every time he got the ball, but his passing skills were on full display. He diced the defense up and showed composure through the defensive pressure. Give credit to the UNC role players; six different players hit a three-pointer in the first half for the Tar Heels.

Wilson was also used in pick-and-rolls with center Henri Veesaar, and took rebounds off the glass coast-to-coast. The UNC star finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Bad: Defensive rotations were still suspect

In the first half, the Fighting Irish shot 6-12 from downtown. That was a huge reason why the first half was relatively close at the break. The Tar Heels still struggled communicating and switching, which led to wide-open threes.

The second half was a better defensive showing for the Tar Heels. It was by no means perfect, but it was an improvement. UNC was getting a little lucky that the Fighting Irish went cold from three. They had open looks, but were not knocking them down. So, yes, UNC’s defense did improve, but it still was not great.

Ugly: Notre Dame’s 2nd half

Speaking of the Fighting Irish going cold, they sure were in the second half. After a hot start in the first half, they disappeared in the second half. The first half kind of had UNC fans nervous about another close game for the Tar Heels, but that all went out the window in the second half.

The Fighting Irish shot just 2-13 from three after the break. They did not do themselves any favors with their free-throw performance. The Fighting Irish were 54% from the charity stripe. This was an overall dominant game for UNC, which led the entire game.

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