UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Finishes Out the Game Against the Irish
by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn
The North Carolina basketball team looked to get their first win of ACC play against Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon. The Tar Heels had another sloppy start to the game with five turnovers in the first 4 minutes of the game. Early in the first half, the Heels struggled to find any rhythm on the offense end, shooting just 31% from the field. In addition, they were also not very good guarding the three-point line and dribble penetration on defense.
Even though UNC was struggling, and Notre Dame had taken the lead, they still found themselves in the game late in the first half. The Tar Heels would then go on a 10-0 run to give them some momentum going into halftime.
In the second half, it was a back-and forth-game with multiple lead changes. Day’Ron Sharpe was dominant throughout and led the way with 25 points, with 19 of those points coming in the second half alone. UNC was completely dominant on the boards outrebounding the Fighting Irish 48-27, with 21 of those being offensive rebounds. UNC was down by 1 with 9 seconds left, Leaky Black hits the go-ahead basket to give the Heels the win.
UNC Game Stats
1 2 T
North Carolina 29 37 66
Notre Dame 30 35 65
North Carolina
Pts FG 3FG FT REB A TO Min +/-
1 BLACK 8 3-7 1-2 1-1 4 3 0 31 2
2 LOVE 5 2-7 1-3 0-0 0 0 1 15 -6
5 BACOT 4 1-7 0-0 2-4 10 1 1 17 3
11 SHARPE 25 9-19 0-0 7-9 9 1 2 29 0
24 WALTON 12 4-8 4-8 0-0 1 3 1 27 4
3 PLATEK 0 0-2 0-2 0-0 5 1 0 15 -6
4 DAVIS 3 1-6 1-6 0-0 3 2 2 23 10
13 KESSLER 2 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 0 1 5 -1
14 JOHNSON 2 1-2 0-1 0-0 2 0 0 9 -1
15 BROOKS 5 2-7 1-1 0-0 8 4 0 29 0
TOTALS 66 24-69 8-23 10-14 48 15 8 200
34.8% 34.8% 71.4%
Notre Dame
Pts FG 3FG FT REB A TO Min +/-
3 HUBB 14 7-12 0-5 0-0 1 5 3 37 -3
5 RYAN 5 2-8 1-6 0-0 3 5 1 38 -5
11 DURHAM 8 4-6 0-0 0-3 2 3 1 17 5
14 LASZEWSKI 25 9-14 7-11 0-1 9 0 1 36 -4
23 GOODWIN 6 2-9 2-5 0-0 4 1 3 30 -2
12 SANDERS JR. 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 -2
13 DJOGO 5 2-4 1-1 0-0 0 2 0 18 0
25 ZONA 0 0-1 0-1 0-0 6 1 0 18 6
31 MORGAN 2 0-1 0-1 2-2 0 0 0 5 0
TOTALS 65 26-55 11-30 2-6 27 17 10 200
47.3% 36.7% 33.3%
UNC Bright Spots
Dayron Sharpe had a career-high 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 assist.
Kerwin Walton had 12 points, 3 assists, and 1 rebound.
Needs Work
The Tar Heels must start games better and cut down on the turnovers early. They had five turnovers in the first four minutes of the game, which is unacceptable. They need to come out with more energy and intensity on both ends of the floor and play smart, clean basketball.
The Tar Heels also need to be better defensively guarding the three-point line and against dribble penetration. Their rotations need to be better and they must talk more on that end of the floor.
Final Observations
The Tar Heels got their first ACC win of the season after starting 0-2 in ACC play. It was not their best performance, but this team will take wins any way they can get them. UNC is still figuring out their identity as a team with each game and it has not been easy for them. Roy is still looking to find his starting lineup and players that will play well more consistently. But with this win today, hopefully, it keeps moving them in the right direction.
The team has the potential to be a quality team but must buy-in to the system Roy as implemented and play Carolina basketball. So far, the bigs have been the most consistent players on the team, while the guards have struggled shooting the ball and to get the Tar Heels in the offense more smoothly.
However, this does not mean that the guards do not have the ability to do those things, but it is just taking a little longer than most of us expected. Freshman Kerwin Walton has been a bright spot with his perimeter shooting in the last few games and should continue to get better going forward. This team’s success will be based on how the guards continue to develop and continue to get comfortable in their roles. If this happens, the team will take off and be able to really compete in March.