University of North Carolina Athletics
Notre Dame Game Guide
November 26, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2008
By Lauren Brownlow
The Basics
No. 1/1 North Carolina (5-0) will face No. 8 Notre Dame (4-0) in the championship game of the EA Sports Maui Invitational. Carolina is coming off of a 98-69 victory over Oregon in the semifinals. Notre Dame beat No. 7 Texas 81-80 in the other semifinal. Carolina is 12-2 in the Maui Invitational and has won the event twice, in the 1999-00 season and the 2004-05 season. Roy Williams is 10-1 in the Maui Invitational.
Carolina holds a 15-4 edge in the series with Notre Dame. The two teams have played twice when Carolina was ranked No. 1 and Notre Dame beat the Tar Heels are 1-1. Carolina beat Notre Dame at home when Notre Dame was No. 11 on January 26, 1986. Then on February 1, 1987, the No. 1 Tar Heels traveled to Notre Dame and lost 60-58. Another notable meeting happened in the 1985 NCAA Tournament when the second-seeded Tar Heels beat the 7th-seed Fighting Irish in South Bend on St. Patrick's Day. The two teams played four times between 1991 and 1994 and Carolina won three of four.
Game Time: North Carolina vs. Notre Dame 10:00 PM.
Last Time: Carolina beat Notre Dame 80-71 on February 23, 1994 in a game played at Notre Dame. Carolina was ranked No. 4 at the time. Eric Montross led the way with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Jerry Stackhouse had 17 points, three blocks and two steals. Donald Williams had 12 points and Jeff McInnis also had 12 on 2-of-5 shooting from the three-point line and led the team with four assists. Monty Williams led the Irish with 20 points on 8-of-22 shooting. Keith Kurowski had 17 points and Ryan Hoover added 13.
Radio Coverage: Tar Heel Sports Network coverage begins at 9:00 PM.
Injury Report: > Tyler Hansbrough's shin looks to be feeling better but he tweaked his ankle on his other leg against Santa Barbara and played 19 minutes against Oregon. "The decision of whether Tyler will play tomorrow night will be made tomorrow during warm-ups," Williams said. "It will be made by both of us. If he has any pain in his ankle we probably won't play him. If he doesn't and it feels good, we probably will play him." Tyler Zeller broke his wrist against Kentucky. He had surgery and will likely miss the rest of the season. Marcus Ginyard will be out until mid-December after undergoing surgery on October 8th to repair a stress fracture in his left foot. Michael Copeland tore his ACL in a pickup game in May and had surgery in June. He will be out until sometime midseason.
Storylines
Three-point defense: Carolina has played defense of all kinds very well this season so far and particularly against Oregon, holding the Ducks to 30.1% shooting for the game, a season-low by a Tar Heel opponent. The Ducks shot 31% from the three-point line, second-lowest behind Kentucky's 25 percent. Carolina has held its last three opponents to 6-of-34 shooting (17.6%) from beyond the arc in the first half; in Maui, that number improves to 3-of-25 (12.0%) in the first half. But in the second half of its last three games, it has allowed 18-of-37 shooting from beyond the arc (48.6%). In Maui, Carolina has allowed 14-of-27 shooting from three-point range in the second half.
Some of those three-pointers have come in `garbage' time, of course. But plenty have not and Williams has mentioned on more than one occasion that his team has had a tendency this season to start games well defensively and lose some of that edge. "I think we were good in the first half defensively. I don't think we maintained the concentration in the second half. We talked about it defensively, not giving them open looks and not go flying through the air," Williams said. "Last night and tonight in the first half we were good defensively, but they missed some shots too, but that's part of it. At times we did a nice job defensively."
Notre Dame's philosophy offensively was described by an ESPN analyst as essentially: "If you're open, shoot it." That means that the Irish shoot plenty of three-pointers - but they make plenty, too. The Irish of course have an inside presence with All-American Luke Harangody in the post but their perimeter offense is very important to what they do. Notre Dame began the season hitting 11-of-30 three-pointers in its first two games (36.7%). In Maui, the Irish have hit 21-of-50 from beyond the arc (42%). Against Texas, Notre Dame hit 11-of-24 three-pointers (45.8%).
If there's anything more dangerous than facing a three-point shooting team, it's facing a shot three-point shooting team. Carolina will face its toughest test to date and one of the more unique tests, to be sure, defensively. "They do have the threat offensively that is difficult to cover when they can score so well from the inside and shoot the ball from the perimeter so well," Williams said. "We've got to get back quickly and get the shooters picked up, sometimes pick them up in transition so we don't give them the open looks."
Free-throw shooting: It's something that seems so fundamental but it's also something that nearly cost Notre Dame its game against Texas. The Irish missed some free throws late, including two that could have sealed the game. The Irish ended up making 10-of-21 free throws (47.6%), the same percentage it shot from the field and slightly better than its three-point percentage (45.8%). Carolina also has had trouble hitting its free throws. Taking out Tyler Hansbrough's 12-of-14 performance against Oregon, the rest of the team hit 10-of-19 (52.6%).
Normally reliable free-throw shooters like Wayne Ellington have struggled; he has made just 1-of-3 free throws against Penn. Ed Davis has shot better from the field (60%) than from the line (59.1%), albeit barely. Deon Thompson began the season shooting 3-of-4 from the foul line against Penn and has shot 2-of-11 since. Ty Lawson has made 19-of-28 free throws this season but after missing his last attempt against Kentucky, he has hit 8-of-16 (50%) after starting 11-of-11.
Last season, Carolina shot 75.7% from the free-throw line and four Tar Heels (all still here) shot 80% or better from the line. Carolina is shooting 66.7% this season so far and if that stood, it would be the worst performance from the foul line since the 2002-03 season. Some of it might be fatigue. Carolina didn't play its starters nearly as much but the bench is already thin. Carolina followed up a season-low seven turnovers against Chaminade with a season-high 18 turnovers against Oregon. Carolina also shot 13-of-18 from the foul line in the first half and just 9-of-15 in the second half, adding 12 second-half turnovers. Carolina also allowed Oregon to go to the free-throw line 21 times, the most by a Carolina opponent all season.
Of course, Carolina did not get to the line as much at all without Hansbrough. In the three games without him, it shot 44-of-68 from the line (64.7%), averaging 22.7 attempts. In the two games with him, the team has shot 44-of-64 (68.8%) and averages 32.0 attempts. Getting 22.0 points per game from the line compared to 14.7 without him is an improvement but if Carolina could make its free throws, it could really capitalize on chances to score.
At The Game
Listening to the Tar Heel Sports Network at the game: The in-stadium frequency in the Lahaina Civic Center will be 96.1 FM.
Watching At Home
Turn down the sound: If you're watching at home while listening to the radio or over the computer via Carolina All-Access, there will inevitably be some delay. For the reason - and a possible solution - click here.
A full list of THSN affiliates can be found here.
ESPN coverage: The game will be available on ESPN. Jay Bilas, Bill Raftery and Sean McDonough will have the call.
Names To Know
Tyler Hansbrough: The senior tweaked his ankle against UC-Santa Barbara but he felt fine after the game and will still be a game-time decision. Still, it's hard to imagine him not playing and the potential matchup between Hansbrough and Notre Dame's Luke Harangody would be very important in the game. If there was anything to be learned about Hansbrough through this injury, it's that he's human - barely, of course, but still human. He has been a little rusty since his return to the line-up. The thought of him going up against Harangody, while fantastic for pundits and sports fans, might be a bit too much for him right now. Then again, rarely has anything been `too much' for Hansbrough. He would potentially be facing off against a guy who is a lot like him, a hard worker who plays with reckless abandon.
After a 2-of-8 performance against Santa Barbara, he took better shots and made 2-of-4. Still, 4-of-12 on the season certainly shows signs of rust and 21 of his 29 points have come at the foul line. It's also unusual to see Hansbrough have 11 rebounds through two games. Still, he's getting back into the rhythm of playing again and as he progresses, those numbers will come. Nothing will fire up Hansbrough like a matchup against a not only a top-10 team but an elite-level player.
Danny Green: Green is slowly becoming one of the Tar Heels' most reliable players and an absolute force. If there were any gripes with Green prior to this season, the biggest was that he was inconsistent. He would follow up a great play with a bone-headed one or follow up a hot-shooting night with an 0-for-7 performance and four turnovers. This season, he has not shot below 40% in any game, has made at least one three-pointer in every game, has at least three rebounds in every game and at least two assists.
On the TV broadcast, the announcers joked that Green was a slacker for not having a steal against Oregon. He had everything else - 21 points (on 8-of-12 shooting, including a career high five three-pointers on eight attempts), eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 26 minutes. So far in Maui, Green has shot 19-of-29 (65.5%) from the floor and 7-of-11 (63.6%) from the three-point line. He has scored 47 points in 48 minutes. He also has 15 rebounds (7 offensive), seven assists, one steal and four blocks.
"Really, (it's) just my teammates finding me when I'm open," Green said of his hot streak. "There's no real big secret to it. They have to focus so much on Tyler (Hansbrough) on the inside and Ty (Lawson) when he's penetrating and Wayne (Ellington). We have so many threats that it leaves me open sometimes. I was just lucky enough to be open at the right spots at the right times and they found me and I knocked a couple in."
If that seems like false modesty, it isn't. Green knows that he's had stretches of stellar play only to go through a shooting slump. One of his biggest areas of inconsistency at times has been on defense. Against Penn, Green had trouble navigating the screens to follow around Bernardini. Notre Dame has an entire team full of Bernardini's. So Green's focus this season has not necessarily been to put up all these points - he's not forcing anything - but instead to keep it going and to improve on defense. "Right now my main focus is to try and keep it consistent and pick it up better on the defensive end," Green said.
Luke Harangody: The 6-8, 255-pound junior forward had a breakout season last year as a sophomore, becoming the second player in Big East history to lead the league in both scoring and rebounding in the same season. He was the Big East Player of the Year and entered this season a consensus preseason All-American. He is a contender for National Player of the Year as well. Just like Carolina's own National Player of the Year, Harangody is known for his work ethic and tenacious play under the basket.
He was one of just ten players this decade to average 20 points and ten rebounds last season (20.4 points and 10.6 rebounds). He scored in double figures each of the final 31 games of the season. He has plenty of standout performances but one in particular was his 40-point game against Louisville on 16-of-28 shooting (3-of-4 from beyond the arc). This year, he is averaging 25.0 points and 12.3 rebounds, shooting 54.2% from the floor. Against Texas, Harangody had 29 points on 11-of-21 shooting (1-of-1 from the three-point line) and added 6-of-10 shots from the foul line, 13 rebounds (4 offensive), two assists, one steal, one block and no turnovers in 37 minutes.
Kyle McAlarney: The senior guard set the Notre Dame record for made three-pointers as a junior with 108. He shot 44.1% from beyond the arc, averaging 15.1 points (second behind Harangody) and 3.5 assists. He has come up big for the Irish in big games; when they beat Connecticut last season, he scored 32 points on a ridiculous 13-of-19 shooting performance (6-of-7 from beyond the arc). He also set a Notre Dame single-game record with nine three-pointers against Syracuse.
McAlarney began the season with just ten points in Notre Dame's first two games, shooting 2-of-13 from the floor and 2-of-8 from the three-point line. He also had ten assists and six turnovers. In the two Maui Invitational games, he has shot 13-of-23 (56.5%) from the floor and 11-of-20 (55%) from beyond the arc, averaging 18.5 points. He also has five assists to just one turnover. Against Texas, he played all 40 minutes and hit 5-of-9 three's.
Quotables
"They'll be playing in the Wall Street League." -Bill Raftery on the Carolina bench players
Lauren Brownlow is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly.
