Quick Hits: Notre Dame's 83-66 Loss To North Carolina
North Carolina went on a 16-3 run over the final 5:30 to take down Notre Dame 83-66 Monday night at home.
The Irish trailed 67-63 with under six minutes to go before the Tar Heels pulled away late with the run.
Here are Blue & Gold Illustrated's quick hitters, notes and stats from the Irish loss.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
North Carolina wing Theo Pinson did it all for the Tar Heels finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. The senior scored 13 points in the second half to help fend off the Irish.
Pinson had a personal 7-0 run to help fuel the Tar Heels late including converting an and-one opportunity. Pinson made what many call “winning plays” and he was a big reason North Carolina avoided the upset.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME
This selection was referenced above as Pinson’s 7-0 run was the turning point in the game. Pinson’s and-one conversion was shot of energy that North Carolina needed after the Irish cut the lead to 67-63 with 5:47 remaining.
Notre Dame was continuing to hang around and was a quick sequence away from turning momentum completely over to its side. But, it was the Tar Heels who rode momentum to the end.
ROAD WOES
Notre Dame is now 0-5 in its last five games on the road. The Irish have averaged just 60.2 points in those five games. That is obviously not good enough.
With a 5-8 record in ACC play and three road games left, Notre Dame has to find a way to win on the road if the Irish won’t to avoid having to win the ACC Tournament to get into the big dance.
The Irish have a lot of work to do to make the tournament, and it starts with winning on the road.
FREE THROW SHOOTING
It was not a good night for the Irish at the line. The team shot 12-of-23 (52.2 percent) from the charity stripe which was a far cry from the 75-plus percent number for the season.
Had the Irish performed better earlier in the game, they may have taken a second half lead or at the very least put even more pressure on the Tar Heels.
WHAT THE LOSS MEANS
Simply put, the loss puts more pressure on Notre Dame’s tournament chances. A 5-8 league record means the team would have to win four of its last five to get to a .500 in ACC play.
Wake Forest made the NCAA Tournament last year with a 9-9 record in the league while winning an ACC Tournament game. That’s what Notre Dame should shoot for. An 8-10 record could be good enough if the team wins multiple games in the league tournament depending how the committee evaluates a potentially healthy Irish team.
OTHER STATS OF NOTE
Notre Dame’s bench outscored North Carolina’s 24-11.
The Tar Heels held a 30-16 advantage in the paint.
Both teams had six turnovers, but North Carolina turned those into nine points where the Irish had just three points off turnovers.
John Mooney scored a career-high 18 points on 6-of-6 shooting behind the arc.
This is the fourth time in five games an opponent has shot 49 percent or better against Notre Dame. North Carolina finished 53.3 percent from the field.
The Tar Heels won the rebounding battle 42-29 including 12-10 on the offensive class.
North Carolina had 14 second-chance points to Notre Dame’s 6.
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