By Adam Lucas
1. Carolina got the win it needed in beating Notre Dame, 91-69.
2. The Tar Heels made a change in the starting lineup, inserting Jaydon Young in place of Jarin Stevenson. Young, who started ten games at Virginia Tech last year, was hampered by foul trouble and played just 14 minutes after picking up his fourth with 18 minutes to play.
3. Carolina had a huge edge in the frontcourt and exploited it. The Tar Heels got 37 points and 19 rebounds from the combination of Caleb Wilson (22 and 7) and Henri Veesaar (15 and 12). And in some of the best news, that pair only had to play 30 minutes (Wilson) and 28 (Veesaar) as the Heels continue to try to keep that duo fresh. Veesaar was an impressive +30 in those 28 minutes.
4. That led to a very productive night from two-point range. Carolina hit 18 of 26 two-point shots. Carolina was very intentional about getting the ball inside at the outset of the second half and Veesaar started that final 20 minutes with a couple baskets, an assist, and a beautiful hustle play blocking a shot and saving it off a prone Irish player.
5. Hubert Davis isn’t going to be happy with Carolina’s inability to keep Notre Dame off the offensive glass. The Irish had 18 offensive boards but weren’t very efficient with them, turning it into just 13 points. Carson Towt had five of those offensive rebounds.
6. Caleb Wilson showed off the full arsenal on Wednesday night. He scored in a variety of different ways, including a couple gorgeous turnaround jumpers, hitting a three-pointer, and a nice baseline spin for a dunk. He also handed out a team-high five assists and, in the highlight reel of the night, had a breakaway one-hand dunk. A concrete sign of how magnetic he is: as soon as he picked up the ball in the open court, the entire Smith Center stood up to see what might happen next.
7. Notre Dame coaxed Carolina into firing away from the perimeter in the first half. Fifteen of UNC’s first 20 shots were three-pointers (they made six). The Tar Heels did a better job of getting the ball inside over the final five minutes of the half and picked up six points in the paint in those five minutes after getting six over the previous 15 minutes. For the game, the Heels took 34 three-pointers–probably too high a total–but also made 13, including at least one three from eight different players, which tied a school record.
8. Both teams were very conservative with the basketball. With the game played largely in the halfcourt, the Irish committed just five turnovers and Carolina had eight miscues. Even with the inability to force Notre Dame mistakes, Carolina did put up a solid defensive field goal percentage of 36.0, continuing some very strong defensive numbers at home (they came into the game holding opponents to 34.6 percent shooting at the Smith Center). The road numbers, of course, need improvement in ACC games and will be tested this weekend. But it was nice to see a reversal of the recent trend that had seen the last four UNC opponents combine to hit 53.8 percent from the floor. The Irish were 8-for-25 from three.
9. Wednesday’s game was played in close proximity to the 40th anniversary of the first game at the Smith Center (Jan. 18, 1986). Several familiar faces have been working at the Smith Center since that day and were honored during the win over the Irish, including multiple ushers and gameday staff.
10. Carolina has won six in a row against Notre Dame and now turns their attention to Saturday’s date with Virginia.
