UNC Basketball Moments After – UNC vs Notre Dame 91-69 Win
UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Bounces Back With a Blowout Win Against Notre Dame at Home
by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn
The North Carolina basketball team returned home to face off against Notre Dame after a rough road trip in California. The Tar Heels came out much more focused and locked in defensively after horrendous defensive performances in the last few games. Seth Trimble set the tone with an emphatic block on the first defensive possession of the game and the Heels’ intensity, ball pressure, and effort and energy defensively really caused Notre Dame problems in the early going. About midway through the first half, Notre Dame was shooting just 20% from the field due to Carolina ball pressure on Notre Dame guards, getting over screens better, quicker rotations, and forcing Notre Dame into tough contested shots. While they were defending much better, the UNC offense looked crisp as well with great ball movement getting the ball to the open man and playing inside out, which led to great shots every time down the floor. Caleb led the way with 14 going into halftime and Derek Dixon, Jayden Young, Caleb Wilson, Kiyan Evans, Jonathan Powell, and Luka Bogavac all hit a three coming off that great ball movement. The Tar Heels shot 48% from the field and had 8 assists on 13 made baskets as they went into intermission with a nine-point 42-33 lead. Although it would’ve been more if not for a few defensive lapses by the Tar Heels, which resulted in 6 Notre Dame threes.
North Carolina went on an 8-0 coming out of halftime, and the Heels never looked back. The Tar Heels dominated the Fighting Irish for the remainder of the game and led the game from start to finish. Notre Dame had no answers for anything Carolina was doing offensively from Henri Veesar and Caleb Wilson post-ups to Derek Dixon, Jarin Stevenson, and Kiyan Evans spot up threes, to transition baskets from Seth Trimble. UNC was also overwhelming them with their ball pressure, length, and size defensively, which took the Fighting Irish out of rhythm offensively. Carolina led by as much as 29 in the second half and held Notre Dame to 36% from the field including 32% from behind the arc. The Tar Heels shot 67% from two-point range and made 13 threes with 8 different Tar Heel players hitting a three, which is a school record. Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar combined for 37 points and 19 rebounds, leading the way for UNC as they got a much-needed 91-69 win over the Fighting Irish to snap their current two game losing streak.
UNC Stats
| 1 | 2 | T | |
| Notre Dame 10-9 | 33 | 36 | 69 |
| 22 North Carolina 15-4 | 42 | 49 | 91 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| C. Wilson | 22 | 7 | 5 | 8/11 | 1/3 | 5/8 | 1 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| H. Veesaar | 15 | 12 | 1 | 6/10 | 1/3 | 2/5 | 1 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| D. Dixon | 11 | 3 | 2 | 4/6 | 3/5 | 0/0 | 2 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| S. Trimble | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2/4 | 0/1 | 1/2 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| J. Young | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1/4 | 1/4 | 0/0 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| K. Evans | 9 | 0 | 1 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 0/0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Bogavac | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2/9 | 1/6 | 4/4 | 1 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| J. Stevenson | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2/3 | 2/2 | 2/2 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| J. Powell | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2/5 | 1/4 | 0/0 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Z. High | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1/2 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| E. Smith | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2/2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| I. Denis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| E. Davis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Holbrook | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| I. Matlekovic | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Brown | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 91 | 42 | 18 | 31/61 | 13/34 | 16/23 | 17 | – | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| J. Haralson | 13 | 6 | 1 | 6/16 | 0/1 | 1/2 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Certa | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2/9 | 1/5 | 4/4 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| C. Towt | 6 | 6 | 1 | 3/11 | 0/0 | 0/1 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| B. Shrewsberry | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1/5 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 1 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| B. Koehler | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1/5 | 0/1 | 0/3 | 2 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| S. Mohammed | 14 | 4 | 1 | 6/11 | 1/3 | 1/1 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R. Frost | 10 | 3 | 0 | 3/4 | 3/4 | 1/2 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G. Sundra | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2/2 | 2/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Imes | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2/8 | 0/4 | 0/0 | 1 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| M. MacLellan | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| B. Stevens | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0/1 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Zachery IV | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| K. Njie | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| M. Burton | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| T. Ahneman | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| L. Devine | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 69 | 38 | 13 | 27/75 | 8/25 | 7/13 | 16 | – | 5 | 0 | 5 |
UNC Bright Spots
Caleb Wilson had 22 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.
Henri Veesaar had 15 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 1 assist.
Derek Dixon had 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists
Needs Work
While the Tar Heels were much better defensively in this game, they need to be better on the defensive glass limiting second chance opportunities. They allowed 18 offensive rebounds, which is unacceptable.
The Tar Heels did shoot better from the free throw line, making 70% in this game but going forward you would like to make their free throws at much higher clip consistently
Final Observations
The Tar Heels got a much-needed win over the Fighting Irish after returning from that California trip where they lost twice. The Heels improve to a 15-4 record and are now 12-0 at home. UNC were much better defensively in this game. They forced tough shots, had better rotations, communicated better, and just had more energy and effort defensively than they had shown in the previous four games. After giving up 14 threes on 50% from behind the arc in fourth straight games, they finally decided to guard the three-point line and held Notre Dame to 8 threes at 38% from behind the ac. Hubert Davis made another lineup change, inserting Jayden Young into the starting lineup to replace Jarin Stevenson, which I thought gave the starting unit and bench units more balance.
The Tar Heels were able to get better production off the bench, and the rotations make more sense. With the inconsistent production from guys like Kiyan Evans and Luka Bogavac, I think it is better for them to come off the bench because there is no pressure on them to produce. They can just be a spark off the bench and today was a prime example with Kiyan Evans, who hit 3 three pointers in this game, looking much comfortable with the shots he was taking. Ultimately for the Tar Heels to reach the potential, it will come down to how each player buys into their role and the chemistry they build because the talent is there to make a strong run in the NCAA tournament. They will need to continue to share the ball offensively playing inside out and take pride in playing defense every night. Their frontcourt is a nightmare matchup every night so it will be up to the backcourt to consistently produce to get the most out of this team. Next up is Virginia on Saturday January 24 at 2:00 P.M. on ESPN.
Looks like the home court hss been a great advantage to the Tarheels. Thanks for the update.