Notre Dame Will Visit Smith Center Tuesday

GAME 17 NOTEBOOK
• Carolina looks to rebound from its worst home loss in 18 years when it plays host to Notre Dame on Tuesday, January 15. Gametime is 9:05 p.m.
• The Tar Heels lost to Louisville, 83-62, on January 12, the same day the Irish won their first ACC game of the season by defeating Boston College, 69-66.
• Carolina has lost two straight ACC home games (Miami in final home game last year and Louisville). UNC has not lost three straight conference home games since dropping four in a row in 2010 (Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Virginia and Duke).
• Carolina began conference play with road wins at Pitt and NC State. This is the first time UNC has ever won its first two ACC games on the road, then lost its first ACC home game.
• Carolina is 3-0 in games after losses this season, beating UCLA, UNCW and Davidson by an average margin of 22.0 points.
• Although Carolina's average number of turnovers is similar in its 12 wins (14.3 per game) versus its four losses (14.8), some other numbers are telling: scoring (93.4/72.5); field goal percentage (.489./405); three-point percentage (.371/.311); opponent threes made (7.0/10.5); opponent 3FG percentage (.284/.429); and rebound margin (+13.6/+0.3).
• The loss to Louisville was the 10th straight time the Tar Heels lost a game when the opponents shot 50 percent from the floor and out-rebounded Carolina dating back to the 2010-11 season. The last time UNC won when the opponents shot 50 percent and had more rebounds was a 96-91 home win over Long Beach on 12/11/10. Of course, that combination has only happened 10 times in the last 306 games. The Cardinals shot 51.9 percent and had a 40-31 advantage on the boards.
• This is one of six Tuesday games for the Tar Heels in ACC regular-season play this season. Carolina is scheduled to play on two Mondays, six Tuesdays, one Wednesday (at Duke) and nine times on the weekend.

UNC-NOTRE DAME SERIES
• Carolina leads the series, 23-7. UNC has won the last five games against Notre Dame. The Tar Heels beat the Irish eight in a row from 1958-72.
• UNC is 7-3 against Notre Dame since the Irish joined the ACC, including 1-1 in the ACC Tournament (2015 championship game and 2016 semifinal) and 1-0 in the NCAA Tournament (2016 East Regional final).
• The Tar Heels are 5-1 at home against the Irish. That includes a 4-1 record in Chapel Hill (all at the Smith Center) and 1-0 in Greensboro (the 2017 game was postponed a day and moved to Greensboro due to a water crisis in Chapel Hill, but the game is officially designated a UNC home game).
• Roy Williams is 8-3 against Notre Dame, all as UNC's head coach.
• ESPN analyst LaPhonso Ellis went 1-1 playing for the Irish against the Tar Heels. Ellis had 14 points (so did Hubert Davis for Carolina) in UNC's 82-47 win in 1991; a year later, Ellis led the Irish to victory with 31 points, 11 boards, six assists, four steals and two blocks (he did have five turnovers). Davis led UNC with 22.
• Tar Heel Sports Network (radio) analyst Eric Montross was 2-1 as a player vs. the Irish. He had 19 points in a 1993 win.

JAN. 13, 2018, AT NOTRE DAME
UNC 69, NOTRE DAME 68
• Joel Berry II made two free throws with 7.1 seconds to play and Notre Dame missed two shots, including one at the buzzer, in UNC's one-point road win.
• Notre Dame went ahead 66-60 with 5:58 to play after back-to-back three-pointers by Nikola Djogo, but the Tar Heels held the Irish without another field goal.
• UNC out-scored Notre Dame, 9-2, over the final 5:57.
• Carolina held Notre Dame to just 34.8 percent shooting from the floor.
• Notre Dame grabbed 20 offensive boards, which led to eight more possessions than UNC.
• Maye led UNC with 18 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three steals and no turnovers.
• Pinson had 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists and no turnovers.

FEB. 12, 2018, IN CHAPEL HILL
UNC 83, NOTRE DAME 66
• Carolina took a 7-5 lead with 16:09 to play in the first half and kept the lead for the rest of the game.
• UNC led 38-34 at the half and built the lead to 10 (56-46) before an 11-2 run by the Irish cut the margin to one with 9:39 remaining.
• The lead was four with just under six minutes to play when the Tar Heels went on a 13-0 run.
• The Tar Heels shot 56.7 percent from the floor in the second half.
• Carolina shot 53.3 percent from the floor for the game, while Notre Dame shot 37.9 percent.
• Carolina out-rebounded the Irish, 42-29, including 12-10 on the offensive glass. At Notre Dame on Jan. 13th, the Irish out-rebounded the Tar Heels, 45-37, including 20-13 on the offensive boards.
• UNC out-scored Notre Dame, 14-6 on second-chance points. At Notre Dame, the Irish out-scored UNC, 18-17.
• Berry led all scorers with 21 points.
• Pinson had 16 points, a game-high 10 rebounds and a team-high five assists.
• Maye had eight points, eight rebounds and four assists. He had back-to-back assists on baskets by Pinson that increased UNC's lead from four to nine with five minutes to play. They were the first five points in a 13-0 run that pushed UNC's lead from 67-63 to 80-63.

MISCELLANEOUS
• Carolina is second in the nation in rebounds per game, is sixth in assists and rebound margin and seventh in scoring.
• Carolina is averaging 88.2 points, which is on pace for the third-highest figure in Roy Williams' 16 seasons as head coach. It is one of eight seasons in which UNC has averaged 88 or more points.
• Despite being out-rebounded 40-31 by Louisville, Carolina has a rebound margin of plus 10.3 for the season, which is on pace for the fifth highest in UNC history.
• Carolina has more rebounds in 13 of the first 16 games this season and won 11 of those 13 games. UNC is 1-0 when rebounds are even (UCLA) and 0-2 (Kentucky and Louisville) when out-rebounded.
• The Tar Heels have won 85 percent of the games in which they out-rebound the opponents in Roy Williams' 16 seasons as head coach.
• Carolina has finished in the top 10 in the nation in rebound margin in nine of Roy Williams' first 15 seasons at UNC, including No. 1 in the country in 2008, 2012 and 2017. The Tar Heels have finished ninth, ninth, first and third in the nation in the last four years.
• The Tar Heels are averaging 19.3 assists per game, most in a season since 1990-91 (20.0 per game).
• The Tar Heels have finished in the top six in the country in assists per game 11 times under Williams, including second, fourth, fourth and tied for fourth in the last four seasons.
• Despite making just two threes against Louisville, Carolina is averaging 8.1 three-pointers per game. UNC has made 8.0 or more in only two previous seasons (a school-record 8.3 in 2002-03 and 8.2 in 2017-18).
• Carolina made 10 threes in the win at NC State. The Tar Heels are 5-1 this season when they make 10 or more threes.
• KenPom ranks the Tar Heels third in the nation behind Savannah State and FIU in shortest average length of offensive possessions (13.6 seconds) and fifth in tempo (possessions per game).

AP POLL NOTES
• Carolina is No. 13 in the Associated Press and No. 15 in the coaches polls this week.
• Carolina is ranked this week in an AP poll for the 907th time, more than any other school in college basketball history.
• This is the 91st consecutive AP poll the Tar Heels have been ranked, dating back to mid-conference play in the 2013-14 season.
• UNC began the year No. 8 in the preseason AP poll. It was the 13th time in 16 seasons under Roy Williams UNC was ranked in the preseason Top 10.
• This season is the 56th time in 71 seasons the Tar Heels have been ranked in the top 10 in at least one week of the poll.
• UNC finished the year in the AP poll top 10 in 10 of Williams' first 15 seasons.
• Carolina has finished in the top 10 37 times, including 26 of the last 38 years. UNC has finished the season ranked in the AP poll 50 times.

NUMBER ONE IN WINS PER SEASON
• This is the 109th season of Carolina Basketball. The Tar Heels have won 2,244 games, third most in NCAA history.
• Carolina has won an average of 20.7 games per season. UNC is the only school in the top 10 in all-time NCAA wins that has averaged at least 20 wins per season.

NO. 1 SCHEDULE IN THE COUNTRY
• Carolina's complete 2018-19 schedule is rated the No. 1 most difficult schedule in the country by NCAA.com.
• Eight opponents are in the AP top 25 this week (No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Michigan, No. 4 Virginia, No. 5 Gonzaga, No. 9 Virginia Tech, No. 11 Florida State, No. 12 Kentucky and No. 17 NC State).
• UNC plays eight ACC teams that played in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Three of the four ACC teams the Tar Heels play twice played in the 2018 NCAA Tournament (Duke, Miami and NC State) and the fourth (Louisville) won 22 games.
• KenPom has ranked Carolina's final strength of schedule in the top six in the country in each of the last four seasons, including the most difficult in 2014-15 and 2017-18 (No. 6 in 2015-16 and 2016-17).
• KenPom currently ranks Carolina's strength of schedule (teams played thus far) as No. 9 in the country.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Joel Berry II