North Carolina Returns To The Road As They Visit Notre Dame

North Carolina is back on the road  as they head to South Bend to take on Notre Dame in South Bend Saturday night.

Carolina is 13-4 overall and 2-2 in the ACC. The Tar Heels are coming off a 96-66 home win over Boston College.
• UNC is 3-2 on the road this year – 3-0 in non-conference games and 0-2 in league play.
• UNC has posted a winning record in ACC road games in each of the last seven seasons and 11 of 14 seasons under Hall of Fame head coach Roy Williams.
• UNC has not lost three consecutive ACC road games since 2014 (Wake Forest, Syracuse and Virginia).
• Carolina is 20th in the Associated Press poll. This is the 71st straight week UNC is ranked in the AP top 25.
• Two of Carolina's four losses were to Virginia and Michigan State, ranked third and fourth, respectively, in the current AP poll.
• Five other UNC opponents are ranked this week – Duke (7), Miami (18), Clemson (19), Tennessee (23) and Florida State (24).
• Luke Maye (18.2) and Joel Berry II (17.6) lead Carolina in scoring. The last time two Tar Heels averaged 17 points or more in the same season was 1983-84, when Michael Jordan (19.6) and Sam Perkins (17.6) were UNC's top scoring duo.
• Berry is third in the ACC in free throw percentage (.887), fifth in three-pointers per game (2.6) and sixth in scoring. Maye is second in the league in rebounding (10.8), tied for fourth in scoring and 10th in field goal percentage (.508).
• Luke Maye is sixth in the country in defensive rebounds (8.3), 12th in rebounding (10.8) and 14th in double-doubles (9).
• Roy Williams has won 829 games, one shy of tying Mt. St. Mary's Jim Phelan for seventh place in wins by a Division I head coach.
• Joel Berry II and Luke Maye are among 25 mid-season candidates for the John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy's.
• Maye is one of five players who are on the mid-season list who were not among the 50 players on the preseason watch list.
• Carolina is one of four schools that have two players on the mid-season list and Berry and Maye are among the five ACC players on the list.
• Berry is one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award (Tyler Hansbrough won the award in 2009) "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/12/mens-basketball-tar-heels-visit-notre-dame-saturday.aspx


UNC-NOTRE DAME SERIES
• Carolina leads the series, 21-7. UNC has won the last three games against Notre Dame. 
• UNC is 5-3 against Notre Dame since the Irish joined the ACC, including 1-1 in the ACC Tournament (2015 championship game and 2016 semifinal) and 1-0 in the NCAA Tournament (2016 East Regional final).
• The Tar Heels are 4-2 against the Irish in South Bend with wins in the 1963, 1985, 1994 and 2014 seasons and losses in 1987 and 2016.
• Roy Williams is 6-3 against Notre Dame, all as UNC's head coach. 
• The Irish beat second-ranked UNC, 80-76, on 2/6/16, the last time the teams played at Notre Dame. Carolina led by nine at the break, but the Irish out-scored UNC, 50-37, in the second half. Notre Dame committed only two turnovers, fewest by a UNC opponent since 1978.
• Joel Berry II had 10 points and five assists in the 2016 game at Notre Dame. Luke Maye, Theo Pinson and Kenny Williams played but did not score. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/12/mens-basketball-tar-heels-visit-notre-dame-saturday.aspx


LAST YEAR (FEB. 5, 2017)
UNC 83, NOTRE DAME 76
• Justin Jackson led six Tar Heels in double figures, Carolina out-rebounded Notre Dame by 19 and went on a late 8-0 run to beat the Irish, 83-76.
• The game was postponed a day and played at the Greensboro Coliseum (an hour from UNC's campus) because of a water shortage in Chapel Hill that closed the university for nearly 48 hours.
• UNC led by 15 with 12 minutes to play, but Notre Dame cut the lead to 75-73 before a jump shot by Joel Berry II and a steal by Nate Britt/dunk by Jackson ignited an Tar Heel 8-0 run.
• Carolina out-rebounded the Irish, 44-25, including a 17-7 edge in offensive rebounds, and scored 19 second-chance points.
• Carolina out-scored the Irish, 40-18, in the paint.
• Kenny Williams made three 3FGs and had 11 points.
• Theo Pinson did not play due to a leg injury. He returned the lineup the next game and played in every game the rest of the season."according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/12/mens-basketball-tar-heels-visit-notre-dame-saturday.aspx

As for Notre Dame's last game, unlike North Carolina who won their last game Notre Dame suffered a loss on the road in Atlanta to Georgia Tech.

Notre Dame (13-4, 3-1 ACC) tried to shake off a slow start at Georgia Tech (8-8, 2-1 ACC) on Wednesday evening but fell short, losing by a final of 60-53 to the Yellow Jackets. With the defeat, the Irish split the regular season series with Georgia Tech 1-1, as Notre Dame defeated the Yellow Jackets 68-59 in the team's ACC opener. "according to http://www.und.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/011018aaa.html

The Irish were led by senior big man Martinas Geben, who scored a career-high 16 points and pulled down a team best nine rebounds. Two other Notre Dame players finished in double figures, as T.J. Gibbs and John Mooney each added 11 points. "according to http://www.und.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/011018aaa.html

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Irish had a tough time getting anything going on the offensive end in the first frame of play against the Yellow Jackets, scoring just 20 points over the first 20 minutes. Notre Dame trailed Georgia Tech 30-20 at the half. The Irish held a 16-15 lead with just under 10 minutes left in the first but then went cold for the remainder of the period. "according to http://www.und.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/011018aaa.html

With under 15 minutes to play in the second stanza, the Irish trailed 37-29. The Notre Dame offense then came to life, as the Irish ripped off nine unanswered points to take a one-point lead at 38-37 with just over 11 minutes left on the clock. Georgia Tech responded with a run of its own, retaking a 52-43 lead at the seven-minute mark."according to http://www.und.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/011018aaa.html

Freshman D.J. Harvey answered by knocking down two shots from beyond the arc to help cut the lead back down to three at 54-51 with 3:56 left in regulation. Unfortunately for the Irish, that was as close as they would get as Georgia Tech did enough over the final minutes of play to win by a final of 60-53. "according to http://www.und.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/011018aaa.html

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Geben turned in his best offensive performance of his four-year career against the Yellow Jackets, scoring a career-high 16 points on an efficient 8-of-13 shooting effort from the field to lead the Irish in scoring. The senior also paced the Irish in rebounds with nine and swiped a career-high two steals and added two blocks to stuff the box score. "according to http://www.und.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/011018aaa.html

NOTRE DAME STAT OF THE NIGHT

The Irish dished out 16 assists on the evening. Gibbs matched his career high for assists with seven and junior Rex Pflueger also tied his personal best with six assists. "according to http://www.und.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/011018aaa.html

NOTES OF THE GAME

• For the eighth time this season Geben finished in double figures in the scoring column, finishing with 16 points in Atlanta.
• With 11 points, Gibbs finished with 10-plus points for the 12th time this season and fifth consecutive game.
• Gibbs recorded a season-high seven assists.
• Rex Pflueger dished out six assists, tying his career high.
• Mooney scored a career-high 11 points at Georgia Tech, marking his first double-digit scoring performance of his Notre Dame career.
• Mooney also pulled down a career-high eight rebounds in the contest.

Elijah Burns made the first start of his career at Georgia Tech. "according tohttp://www.und.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/011018aaa.html

Tip-off is set for 6:00pm from Parcel Pavilion. The game will be televised on ESPN. "according to http://www.und.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/nd-m-baskbl-sched.html