University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels To Face Notre Dame In ACC Semis
March 11, 2016 | Men's Basketball
THE MATCHUP
♦ Top-seeded North Carolina (26-6) will try to advance to the ACC Tournament championship game for the fifth time in six years when it faces fourth-seeded Notre Dame (21-10) on Friday at 7 p.m. in the semifinals of the 2016 ACC Tournament in Washington, D.C.
♦ Friday's game will be a rematch of last year's ACC Tournament final, a 90-82 Notre Dame win in Greensboro.
♦ Dan Shulman (play-by-play), Jay Bilas (analyst) and Allison Williams (reporter) will call the game for an ESPN national TV audience (also online with WatchESPN).
♦ Tim Brant (play-by-play), Mike Gminski (analyst) and Debbie Antonelli (reporter) will have the call for the ACC Network (also online at TheACC.com).
TAR HEEL STORYLINES
♦ UNC is seeking its third ACC championship under Williams and its 18th overall.
♦ The Tar Heels have reached the ACC final in 18 of the last 29 seasons.
♦ UNC is 17-7 in the ACC Tournament since 2007.
CAROLINA'S HISTORY IN THE ACC TOURNAMENT
♦ The Tar Heels have an all-time record of 94-44 in ACC Tournament play.
♦ Carolina's ACC Tournament winning percentage (.681) and win total (94) are second-best in conference history behind Duke (95-44, .683).
♦ Carolina is playing in the ACC semifinals for the 48th time in 63 ACC Tournaments and is 33-14 in ACC Tournament semifinal games.
♦ The Tar Heels are 48-14 as the top seed in the ACC Tournament.
♦ Carolina is 15-8 all-time against No. 4 seeds in the ACC Tournament, including 10-4 as the top seed.
♦ UNC is 2-1 in ACC Tournament games in Washington, D.C. (1-1 in 2005 and 1-0 in 2016).
♦ In 2015, Carolina made its 33rd appearance in the ACC Tournament final, most all-time. UNC is 17-16 in 33 championship games.
♦ The Tar Heels have won the ACC Tournament 17 times, second in league history behind Duke's 19.
♦ Carolina has won ACC Tournament championships in 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2007 and 2008.
♦ The Tar Heels have played in the ACC Tournament final in 18 of the last 29 seasons.
ROY WILLIAMS IN THE ACC TOURNAMENT
♦ Carolina is making its 13th ACC Tournament appearance under head coach Roy Williams.
♦ The Tar Heels are 19-10 in ACC Tournament play under Williams' tutelage.
♦ Williams' ACC Tournament winning percentage of .656 is sixth-best in ACC history (minimum five appearances).
♦ Williams is aiming for his third ACC championship as a head coach after capturing the 2007 title in Tampa and the 2008 title in Charlotte.
♦ Williams has led the Tar Heels to the ACC semifinals 10 times (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016). He is 6-3 in ACC semifinals.
♦ Williams has coached UNC to the ACC championship game six times (2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015) and is 2-4 in ACC finals.
TAR HEEL TIDBITS
♦ UNC's defense has allowed only one opponent to shoot 50 percent or better from the floor this season (Maryland at .508 on Dec. 1).
♦ The Tar Heels have held 21 consecutive opponents to under 45 percent in field goal percentage.
♦ Assist-Turnover Ratio: Carolina's assist-to-turnover ratio (1.66) ranks fourth in the nation and is the best of any Tar Heel team since turnovers were first recorded in 1981-82. The second-best figure is 1.53 in 1985-86. Other top-five seasons include 1.45 (2008-09), 1.45 (2011-12) and 1.42 (1997-98).
♦ Cutting Down on Turnovers: UNC is averaging 11.0 turnovers per game, the lowest figure of any Carolina team since turnovers were first recorded in 1981-82. Last year, the Tar Heels averaged nearly 13 turnovers per contest.
♦ There have been seven seasons in which UNC has committed fewer than 13 turnovers per game. The current record was set in 2013-14 (11.94 per game). The other seasons below 13 are 2011-12 (11.95), 2012-13 (12.3), 2008-09 (12.4), 1994-95 (12.9) and 1981-82 (12.9).
♦ Shooting 50 Percent: UNC is 17-1 this year when shooting at least 50 percent from the floor.
♦ Carolina is 172-16 under Roy Williams when its opponents shoot under 40 percent.
♦ UNC's three-point percentage of 31.3 is the lowest in school history. The current low is 32.8 percent, set in 2010-11.
♦ 80 or More: Carolina has scored 80 or more points in 21 of 32 games and is averaging 83.1 ppg this season.
♦ The Tar Heels are 233-28 in 13 seasons under Roy Williams when they score at least 80 points (20-1 this season).
♦ 90 or More: The Tar Heels have scored 90 or more points eight times his season after doing so five times all of last year.
♦ 100 or More: UNC is 49-1 under Williams when it scores 100 points or more.
♦ KenPom Ratings: Carolina is ranked No. 5 in the nation in the KenPom.com statistical rankings. UNC is fifth in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency (119.6) and 29th in adjusted defensive efficiency (95.6).
SERIES HISTORY
♦ Carolina leads the all-time series with Notre Dame, 18-7. The Tar Heels are 0-1 against the Fighting Irish in the ACC Tournament.
♦ Notre Dame has won the last three meetings in the series, but the Tar Heels have won five of the last eight meetings and seven of the last 11.
♦ Earlier this season, Notre Dame beat the Tar Heels, 80-76, in South Bend, Ind.
♦ Last season, Notre Dame beat the Tar Heels, 71-70, in Chapel Hill (Jan. 5) and 90-82 in the ACC Tournament final in Greensboro (March 14).
♦ Roy Williams is 3-3 as a head coach against Notre Dame (all at UNC).
LAST MONTH IN SOUTH BEND
♦ Notre Dame committed just two turnovers and overcame an off shooting night to beat North Carolina, 80-76, on Feb. 6, 2015, in South Bend, Ind.
♦ The Fighting Irish held a 19-0 edge in points off turnovers, forcing 13 Tar Heel mistakes.
♦ Notre Dame's 31 made free throws were the second-most by an opponent against a Roy Williams-coached Tar Heel team.
♦ Two turnovers by Notre Dame were the fewest by an opponent since officially becoming a stat in 1978-79.
♦ Notre Dame won despite shooting 34.8 percent from the floor as a team.
♦ Marcus Paige led UNC with 21 points. Brice Johnson scored 14 points and had 14 rebounds.
LAST YEAR IN THE ACC TOURNAMENT
♦ Notre Dame went on a 26-3 run in the second half and beat North Carolina, 90-82, to win the 2015 ACC title in Greensboro on March 14, 2015.
♦ Jerian Grant had 24 points and Pat Connaughton scored 20 for the Irish, who turned a 63-54 deficit into an 80-66 lead.
♦ Marcus Paige scored 22 of his 24 points in the second half, hitting five three-pointers after the break. Brice Johnson scored 20 for the Tar Heels, hitting 10 of 12 shots.
♦ Carolina outscored Notre Dame, 46-28, in the paint. Johnson (10 for 12), Kennedy Meeks (4 for 6) and Isaiah Hicks (4 for 6) combined to shoot 18 for 24.
♦ Carolina shot 53.0 percent in the game, including 57.8 percent in the second half. Notre Dame was even better, shooting 54.2 percent overall and 58.3 percent in the second half.
♦ Notre Dame shot 28 for 32 at the free throw line. UNC was 5 for 7 at the line.
♦ In the Irish's 26-3 run, Notre Dame made 10 of 13 shots, committed just one turnover and went 4 for 4 from three-point range, while the Tar Heels made 1 of 5 shots and turned it over six times.
TAR HEELS DOWN PITT, 88-71
♦ Carolina closed the first half on a 13-2 run to take the lead, then posted an 11-0 run in the second half to seize control fully in an 88-71 win over Pittsburgh on Thursday in the ACC quarterfinals.
♦ Brice Johnson posted 19 points and 10 rebounds and Joel Berry II scord 20 points to lead the Tar Heel offense.
♦ Carolina held Pitt to 44.4 percent shooting from the floor. That is the 21st consecutive game the Tar Heel defense has held the opponents to under 45 percent from the floor.
♦ Carolina shot 58.9 percent from the floor, its second-highest field goal percentage of the season. The highest was .593 against the Panthers in Chapel Hill on February 14th.
♦ It was the second time this season the Tar Heels shot 50 percent in the first half and 60 percent in the second, and both games were against Pitt.
♦ It was the ninth time this season UNC has shot 50 percent or better in both halves.
♦ It was the 18th time this year UNC shot 50 percent or better from the floor for the game (UNC is 17-1 in those games).
♦ It was the 20th time UNC has shot 50 percent or better in the second half and the fifth time the Tar Heels have shot 60 percent or higher in the second half.
♦ UNC shot .889 from the free throw line (16 of 18). That is the 13th time this year UNC shot 80 percent or better from the free throw line.
WIN AT DUKE GARNERS HUGE RATINGS FOR ESPN
♦ Carolina's win at Duke on March 5 averaged 3.2 million viewers, making it the most-watched college basketball game of the 2015-16 season, according to ratings released by ESPN.
♦ The first UNC-Duke game of the year (played on Feb. 17) had the fourth-highest number of viewers of any game in 2015-16 with 2.9 million viewers on average.
