North Carolina Visits Miami
After two straight home games thirteenth ranked North Carolina will visit Coral Gables Florida where they will take on Miami Saturday.
North Carolina comes into the game with a record of 13-4 while they’re 3-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference while Miami comes into the game with a record of 9-7 while they’re 1-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
As for North Carolina’s previous game they defeated Notre Dame in Chapel Hill.
Once Nassir Little got rolling, No. 13 North Carolina didn't have to worry much about yet another home loss. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/15/mens-basketball-basketball-vs-notre-dame.aspx
Little scored all 11 of his points in the final 11 minutes, and the Tar Heels beat Notre Dame 75-69 on Tuesday night. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/15/mens-basketball-basketball-vs-notre-dame.aspx
"It was just a matter of time," Little said. "Everybody was just waiting for me to do what I do, to help the team be as good as we can be." “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/15/mens-basketball-basketball-vs-notre-dame.aspx
Coby White had 17 points while Luke Maye added 14 points and 10 rebounds and Cameron Johnson finished with 11 points for the Tar Heels (13-4, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). UNC used a late 12-1 run to bounce back from its most lopsided home loss under Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/15/mens-basketball-basketball-vs-notre-dame.aspx
"I got my wish — I wanted to win one ugly," Williams said. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/15/mens-basketball-basketball-vs-notre-dame.aspx
Prentiss Hubb scored 18 points, John Mooney had 16 points and 19 rebounds, and D.J. Harvey added 15 points for the Fighting Irish (11-6, 1-3). Hubb put Notre Dame up 58-57 with a layup with just under seven minutes remaining, but the Irish missed their next six shots while North Carolina took control. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/15/mens-basketball-basketball-vs-notre-dame.aspx
"Everything was just right for us," coach Mike Brey said. "We just needed a few more plays, and we probably needed another scorer." “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/15/mens-basketball-basketball-vs-notre-dame.aspx
White started the key run with a 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down with 6½ minutes to play, and Little, a freshman, ended it with a twisting layup on the break that gave the Tar Heels their first double-figure lead, 69-59, with less than 90 seconds left. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/15/mens-basketball-basketball-vs-notre-dame.aspx
The Irish didn't get closer than seven until Hubb's 3 with 4.7 seconds left made it 73-69. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/15/mens-basketball-basketball-vs-notre-dame.aspx
BIG PICTURE
Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish have lost three of four to begin conference play and haven't cracked the 70s in scoring in any of those games. They aren't afraid to pull the trigger from 3-point range — no team in the ACC has taken more of them this season, and roughly half their shots in this one were from beyond the arc — but they didn't quite hit enough of them to pull off the upset: Notre Dame was just 4 of 15 from long range in the second half. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/15/mens-basketball-basketball-vs-notre-dame.aspx
North Carolina: The Tar Heels will hear less about that embarrassing 83-62 loss to Louisville. They also haven't lost three straight home ACC games in nearly a decade. Perhaps the most encouraging sign: They had only two turnovers in the second half. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/15/mens-basketball-basketball-vs-notre-dame.aspx
STAR WATCH
T.J. Gibbs, who averages a team-best 18.5 points for Notre Dame, was held to five points on 1-of-9 shooting in his return after an illness that forced him to miss a game for the first time in his career. "My trainer said, 'You can't play him as usual, 35 minutes, because he's ill,'" Brey said. "And then I played him 35 minutes, because he was our only option. ... We need to kind of get him back to 100 percent by Saturday." according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/15/mens-basketball-basketball-vs-notre-dame.aspx
PLAY OF THE NIGHT
Seventh Woods earned some hustle points for his blocked shot that brought the crowd to its feet with about 12 minutes left. Nate Laszewski was headed for an easy open-court dunk after stealing the ball from Johnson. But Woods raced in to block the attempt at the rim. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/15/mens-basketball-basketball-vs-notre-dame.aspx
BATTLE ON THE BOARDS
The ACC's top two rebounders — Maye (10.1 rpg) and Mooney (9.8) — went at it in this one. Those two combined for 29 of the 83 total rebounds in the game. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/15/mens-basketball-basketball-vs-notre-dame.aspx
Like North Carolina, Miami won their previous game as they defeated Wake Forest at home.
The University of Miami men's basketball team used a stout defensive effort in the second half to blow by the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 76-65, Saturday afternoon at the Watsco Center. “according to https://hurricanesports.com/news/2019/1/12/mens-basketball-canes-take-down-wake-forest-76-65.aspx
The Canes (9-7, 1-3 ACC) were led by sophomore guard Chris Lykes, who tallied his sixth 20-point outing of the season, while converting on all 14 of his free-throw attempts. Lykes finished the afternoon with a game-high 25 points, while also dishing out four assists. Lykes' 14-for-14 effort at the line was the second-best performance in program history, topped only by Jack McClinton's 16-for-16 day against NC State on March 7, 2009.”according to https://hurricanesports.com/news/2019/1/12/mens-basketball-canes-take-down-wake-forest-76-65.aspx
Lykes was joined by junior guard Dejan Vasiljevic (14 points) and senior center Ebuka Izundu (11 points) in double-figures, while Izundu notched his seventh career double-double with 11 boards. Vasiljevic hit 4-for-8 from 3-point range.”according to https://hurricanesports.com/news/2019/1/12/mens-basketball-canes-take-down-wake-forest-76-65.aspx
Wake Forest (7-8, 0-3 ACC) was led by Chaundee Brown's 22-point effort. UM limited Wake's leading scorer, Brandon Childress, to a season-low 11 points. He also dished out seven assists.”according to https://hurricanesports.com/news/2019/1/12/mens-basketball-canes-take-down-wake-forest-76-65.aspx
Overall, Miami finished the night shooting 23-of-48 (47.9 percent) and 11-of-25 (44.0 percent) from beyond the arc, while Wake Forest shot just 25-of-73 (34.2 percent) from the field and 7-of-33 (21.2 percent) from long range. Miami took advantage at the charity stripe, drawing 20 fouls and converting on 19-of-23 attempts, while the Demon Deacons finished 8-of-9 from the line. “according to https://hurricanesports.com/news/2019/1/12/mens-basketball-canes-take-down-wake-forest-76-65.aspx
With Miami trailing at the break, 33-32, redshirt senior guard Zach Johnson drilled a 3-pointer with 18:10 remaining in the contest to give UM a 38-35 advantage, a lead the Canes would not look back on for the remainder of the game. “according to https://hurricanesports.com/news/2019/1/12/mens-basketball-canes-take-down-wake-forest-76-65.aspx
Leading by seven, 60-53, with under six minutes to play, Lykes took over the game, converting on all 12 of his free throw attempts in the final 5:06 of action, as the Hurricanes extended their lead to as high as 19, 74-55, with 2:22 remaining in the contest. “according to https://hurricanesports.com/news/2019/1/12/mens-basketball-canes-take-down-wake-forest-76-65.aspx
For the half, Miami limited Wake Forest to just 11-of-37 shooting (29.7 percent) and 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Canes shot 17-of-18 from the free-throw line.”according to https://hurricanesports.com/news/2019/1/12/mens-basketball-canes-take-down-wake-forest-76-65.aspx
Tip-off is set for 12:00pm from Watsco Center. The game will be televised on ESPN2.