It’s true that many experts are down on the ACC this year. That doesn’t make Notre Dame want to beat the top teams in the conference any less, especially a program like North Carolina. The Irish had the Tar Heels on the ropes for much of the second half of their conference home opener and nearly let it slip away. Instead, they gladly will take their 78-73 victory.
The Irish (8-5, 2-1) extended a four-point halftime lead to as much as 13 in the second half. The Tar Heels (10-4, 2-1) slowly crawled back until they found themselves up by one with less than three-and-a-half minutes to go. The Irish finished the game on a 12-6 run, but some questionable decisions with the ball during that stretch allowed the Tar Heels to stick around longer than they probably should have. Mike Brey will be sure to remind his team that it might not be so lucky next time.
Nate Laszewski scored most of his Irish-leading 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting from 3-point range and also had a team-high eight rebounds. Blake Wesley shot 8 of 18 from the field for 18 points, and Dane Goodwin scored 17 by shooting 7 of 11. Cormac Ryan added 11 points, and Prentiss Hubb dished out a game-high six assists.