University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Head To Notre Dame
February 8, 2014 | Men's Basketball
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CHAPEL HILL -- North Carolina (15-7, 5-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) visits new conference member Notre Dame (12-11, 3-7) on Saturday afternoon, looking to extend its longest winning streak of the season. The Tar Heels and Fighting Irish will tip off just after noon on Saturday in the Purcell Pavillion in South Bend, Ind.
The syndicated ACC Network of stations will televise the game regionally with Tim Brant (play-by-play) and Dan Bonner (analyst) on the call. The contest also will be carried nationally on satellite radio by XM (channel 191) and Sirius (channel 108).
Saturday's contest will be the first ACC regular season game between UNC and Notre Dame, which joined the conference this season. The Tar Heels and Fighting Irish have played 20 times in the last 57 seasons, but Saturday's meeting will be the first in five seasons and just the second in two decades.
Carolina is on a four-game winning streak, its longest of the season, with victories over Clemson, Georgia Tech, NC State and Maryland in the last two weeks. The last time Carolina won five in a row was last season (a six-game streak in February and March).
The Tar Heels started 1-4 in ACC play this season but moved above .500 with the 75-63 win over Maryland on Tuesday night in Chapel Hill. Notre Dame won its first ACC game over Duke on Jan. 4 but have lost seven of nine games since and enter Saturday's game at 12-11 overall, 3-7 in the ACC.
Carolina leads the all-time series with the Fighting Irish, 16-4. The most recent meeting between the two schools was a 102-87 Tar Heel win in the 2008 Maui Invitational championship game.
That UNC win was the first matchup between the two schools since an 80-71 Tar Heel win in South Bend, Ind., on Feb. 23, 1994. Eric Montross, a senior on that team and currently an analyst on the Tar Heel Sports Network radio crew, recorded 23 points and 11 rebounds in that victory while freshman Jerry Stackhouse had 17 points.
UNC has won the last three meetings between the two schools and five of the last six. The Tar Heels beat the Fighting Irish during the 1992-93 season (in Chapel Hill) and the 1993-94 campaign (in South Bend).
After the contest vs. the Fighting Irish on the road, the Tar Heels will host two ranked opponents in the Smith Center next week in Duke (Wed. Feb. 12) and Pitt (Sat. Feb. 15). Carolina will play four of its last six regular season games on the road after those back-to-back home games.
