University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina beat Notre Dame in the season opener in Chapel Hill.
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Know Your Opponent: Notre Dame
February 17, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers
By Matt Bowers
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (UND.com)
Location: Notre Dame, Ind.
Rankings: No. 60 KenPom, unranked AP
Record: 15-10, 6-8 ACC
NET/SOS: No. 59 NET, No. 108 SOS
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): UNC leads, 25-7 (UNC 76, Notre Dame 65 on Nov. 6, 2019, in Chapel Hill)
It may seem like years ago when Notre Dame and North Carolina last faced off, kicking off the season back on November 6 in the Smith Center, but on Monday night in Notre Dame, the Tar Heels and Fighting Irish will meet again at the Joyce Center.
In the three months since the initial matchup, the excitement of that Carolina win has faded, replaced by injuries, adversity and the unfamiliarity of this 10-15 season.
The Fighting Irish, on the other hand, have played about how most prognosticators figured they would this season. Mike Brey's team sits in the middle of the ACC standings entering the week at 6-8 in league play, right about where folks thought they would be. While it's lost two in a row at Virginia and at Duke in the last week, it won four consecutive games before that with wins over teams that beat Carolina this season (Clemson, Pitt, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest).
Notre Dame is a veteran, scrappy bunch that generally plays smart, leading the nation in both assist-to-turnover ratio (1.70) and fewest fouls committed per game (12.4). It ranks third nationally in fewest turnovers committed per game (9.9). The Irish also lead the ACC with 16.8 assists per game, its adjusted offensive efficiency of 110.5 ranks 36th in the country and its turnover percentage of 14.2 is second-best in the nation in the KenPom.com ratings.
Notre Dame is wrapping up a challenging stretch of four games in nine days that included a win over Clemson and road losses to Virginia and Duke since last Sunday night.
Senior big man and preseason first-team All-ACC choice John Mooney is second in the nation in rebounding, grabbing 12.8 per game, and second nationally with 20 double-doubles. He has 40 double-doubles in the last two seasons. Last year in the Smith Center, Mooney bruised the Tar Heels with 16 points and 19 rebounds in a 75-69 Carolina win. This year, he scores 16.4 points per contest.
Senior guard T.J. Gibbs has 94 career starts to his credit, is shooting 42 percent from three-point range and is second on the team with 13.2 points per game. Graduate student Rex Pflueger has played in 134 games and is nearing the Notre Dame career record for games played.
Sophomore point guard Prentiss Hubb is third on the team in scoring (11.6 ppg) and leads the Irish in assists with 115. Dane Goodwin has started just one game on the wing but still scores 10.8 ppg while hitting 39 percent of his three-point tries.
Senior forward Juwan Durham is coming off a career-high, 21-point effort in Saturday's loss at Duke. He's playing at his best lately, shooting 74 percent from the floor in the last four games (20 for 27). Durham is shooting 56 percent from the field against ACC foes this season.
Carolina has won seven in a row in the series with the Fighting Irish, including a 76-65 win in the Smith Center in the season opener that saw Tar Heel freshman Cole Anthony make his college debut splash with 34 points and six three-pointers.
Carolina will be making just its second appearance in the Joyce Center at Notre Dame since 2016, having last visited on January 13, 2018, and escaping with a 69-68 win after two free throws by Joel Berry II with 7.3 seconds remaining.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (UND.com)
Location: Notre Dame, Ind.
Rankings: No. 60 KenPom, unranked AP
Record: 15-10, 6-8 ACC
NET/SOS: No. 59 NET, No. 108 SOS
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): UNC leads, 25-7 (UNC 76, Notre Dame 65 on Nov. 6, 2019, in Chapel Hill)
It may seem like years ago when Notre Dame and North Carolina last faced off, kicking off the season back on November 6 in the Smith Center, but on Monday night in Notre Dame, the Tar Heels and Fighting Irish will meet again at the Joyce Center.
In the three months since the initial matchup, the excitement of that Carolina win has faded, replaced by injuries, adversity and the unfamiliarity of this 10-15 season.
The Fighting Irish, on the other hand, have played about how most prognosticators figured they would this season. Mike Brey's team sits in the middle of the ACC standings entering the week at 6-8 in league play, right about where folks thought they would be. While it's lost two in a row at Virginia and at Duke in the last week, it won four consecutive games before that with wins over teams that beat Carolina this season (Clemson, Pitt, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest).
Notre Dame is a veteran, scrappy bunch that generally plays smart, leading the nation in both assist-to-turnover ratio (1.70) and fewest fouls committed per game (12.4). It ranks third nationally in fewest turnovers committed per game (9.9). The Irish also lead the ACC with 16.8 assists per game, its adjusted offensive efficiency of 110.5 ranks 36th in the country and its turnover percentage of 14.2 is second-best in the nation in the KenPom.com ratings.
Notre Dame is wrapping up a challenging stretch of four games in nine days that included a win over Clemson and road losses to Virginia and Duke since last Sunday night.
Senior big man and preseason first-team All-ACC choice John Mooney is second in the nation in rebounding, grabbing 12.8 per game, and second nationally with 20 double-doubles. He has 40 double-doubles in the last two seasons. Last year in the Smith Center, Mooney bruised the Tar Heels with 16 points and 19 rebounds in a 75-69 Carolina win. This year, he scores 16.4 points per contest.
Senior guard T.J. Gibbs has 94 career starts to his credit, is shooting 42 percent from three-point range and is second on the team with 13.2 points per game. Graduate student Rex Pflueger has played in 134 games and is nearing the Notre Dame career record for games played.
Sophomore point guard Prentiss Hubb is third on the team in scoring (11.6 ppg) and leads the Irish in assists with 115. Dane Goodwin has started just one game on the wing but still scores 10.8 ppg while hitting 39 percent of his three-point tries.
Senior forward Juwan Durham is coming off a career-high, 21-point effort in Saturday's loss at Duke. He's playing at his best lately, shooting 74 percent from the floor in the last four games (20 for 27). Durham is shooting 56 percent from the field against ACC foes this season.
Carolina has won seven in a row in the series with the Fighting Irish, including a 76-65 win in the Smith Center in the season opener that saw Tar Heel freshman Cole Anthony make his college debut splash with 34 points and six three-pointers.
Carolina will be making just its second appearance in the Joyce Center at Notre Dame since 2016, having last visited on January 13, 2018, and escaping with a 69-68 win after two free throws by Joel Berry II with 7.3 seconds remaining.
Players Mentioned
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