Men's Basketball Visits Notre Dame On Wednesday

GAME 28: at NOTRE DAME
• The Tar Heels hope to end a two-game losing streak when they travel to Notre Dame, Ind., to play the Fighting Irish on February 22 at 9 p.m. on ESPN.
• Carolina beat the Irish, 81-64, in Chapel Hill on January 7.
• UNC is 16-11 overall, 8-8 in the ACC. The Irish have lost five straight, including the last four games by a total of just 14 points, and are 10-17 overall, 2-14 in the ACC.
• Carolina has dropped five of its last six games, all to teams with winning records in ACC play, including 77-69 at NC State on Sunday.
• This is Carolina's second-to-last ACC road game. The Tar Heels have lost three straight on the road by six, seven and eight points, and are 2-7 in road games this season (not counting the Thanksgiving Day win at Portland, which officially is considered a neutral-site game).
• UNC plays its final ACC away game on February 27 at Florida State. Notre Dame is the second of four games in an nine-day stretch for the Tar Heels, which began Sunday in Raleigh.
• Carolina led NC State, 54-48, midway through the second half but the Wolfpack went on a 21-6 run to beat the Tar Heels for just the sixth time in 24 seasons at PNC Arena.
• NC State turned the ball over twice – the first with 9:25 to play and the second with 24 seconds remaining. That helped the Pack outscore UNC, 16-3, in points off turnovers. State also had a decisive 42-26 scoring advantage in the paint and 25-7 in fastbreak points.
• The two turnovers equaled the fewest by an opponent since turnovers became an official stat in 1978-79. Notre Dame had two in an 80-76 win in the Joyce Center on 2/6/2016.
• The Tar Heels are 5-8 this season when the opponents score more points off turnovers.
• Carolina lost for the fifth time in seven games this season when it shot under 40% from the floor.
• Armando Bacot had his 66th career double-double in the loss at NC State, tying Wake Forest's Len Chappell for fifth in ACC history.
• Bacot continues to be the only player in the ACC in the top five (and the top 10) in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage. He is fourth in scoring, first in rebounding and fifth in field goal accuracy. The Richmond, Va., native also leads the league in offensive rebounds and double-doubles.
• Leaky Black will be playing in his 150th career game. Only three other Tar Heels have played that many games.
• Caleb Love has scored 20 or more points in four consecutive games and five of the last six, but the Tar Heels are 1-4 in those five games in which he scored 20 or more (he had a game-high 23 in the win over Clemson, a game that knocked the Tigers out of first place in the ACC).
• UNC's five losses in the month of February have been marked by poor shooting and not taking care of the ball. In those losses, UNC is shooting 37.9% from the floor, including 22.4% from three, and 70.0% from the free throw line. The Tar Heels have 41 assists (8.2 per game) on 128 field goals and committed 50 turnovers in the five losses.

UNC-NOTRE DAME ALL-TIME
• Carolina is 28-9 all-time against the Irish, including 12-4 since Notre Dame began play in the ACC.
• The Tar Heels are 5-4 at Notre Dame, including last season's 78-73 loss.
• Carolina defeated the Irish, 81-64, in Chapel Hill on January 7. Notes below.

THIS SEASON IN CHAPEL HILL (1/7/23)
UNC 81, NOTRE DAME 64
• Armando Bacot was the game's leading scorer with 21 points and also had a game-high 13 rebounds (six offensive), four assists and two blocks.
• Caleb Love made three three-pointers, all in the first half, and scored 18 points; he scored a combined 14 points in UNC's previous two games against Pitt and Wake Forest.
• Puff Johnson made a pair of threes and scored a season-high 11 points.
• Carolina made 8 of 19 three-pointers, a percentage of .421, its second-highest in an ACC game through February 19 (.455 vs. Clemson on February 11).
• D'Marco Dunn scored a career-high seven points.
• Carolina had 19 assists and committed only eight turnovers.

LAST SEASON AT NOTRE DAME (1/5/22)
NOTRE DAME 78, UNC 73
• Carolina trailed by 13 with 13:40 to play, cut the deficit to five, then trailed 61-51 with 8:40 remaining. UNC went on a 16-5 run to take a 67-66 lead, capped by an Armando Bacot jump hook with under four minutes to play.
• The Irish outscored UNC, 12-6, over the final 3:08.
• Nate Laszewski was 6 of 7 from three-point range to lead Notre Dame with 20 points. His three with 3:08 to play gave the Irish the lead for good.
• Notre Dame made 13 threes.
• Bacot had 21 points and a then-career-high 17 rebounds.
• The Tar Heels turned the ball over 14 times that led to 19 Notre Dame points, while the Irish committed only seven turnovers.

STATISTICAL RANKINGS
• Carolina leads the ACC in rebounding (39.6), is second in rebound margin (+4.9), fourth in scoring (77.9 ppg) and eighth in scoring margin (+5.2).
• The Tar Heels are 11th in the country in rebounds per game.
• The Tar Heels are 11th in the ACC in field goal percentage and ninth in FG defense.
• Carolina is 11th in the ACC in three-pointers per game (6.9), 15th in three-point shooting (.306) and seventh in three-point percentage defense (.336).
• In ACC play, the Tar Heels are the only team in the league shooting under 30% from three (.297).
• Carolina leads the ACC in free throws made (17.1) and attempted (23.2) per game.
• Carolina is the only team with three players in the top 11 in the ACC in scoring. Armando Bacot is fourth (career-high 17.3), Caleb Love is fifth (career-high 17.2) and RJ Davis is 11th (career-high 15.8).
• Bacot is the only player in the ACC in the top five as well as the top 10 in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage.
• Bacot is third nationally in double-doubles and offensive rebounds and sixth in rebounds per game.
• Bacot's 23 rebounds vs. James Madison in November equal the third most in a game this season in the NCAA. Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe had 24 vs. Georgia and Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis had 24 vs. Northwestern.
• Davis leads the ACC in free throw shooting at 87.4%. That is on pace to be the sixth-highest in UNC single-season history. The last Tar Heel to lead the ACC in free throw shooting was Joel Berry II (.893 in 2017-18).
• Davis is 32nd in the country in FT%.
• Davis made 14 of 14 from the line against NC State, which equals the fourth best in a game this season in the NCAA.
• Leaky Black is second in the ACC in steals in conference play with 1.9 per game (30 in 16 games).

KENPOM NOTES
• UNC and Notre Dame are ranked No. 44 and No. 170, respectively.
• The Tar Heels are 39th in the nation in offensive efficiency (113.2 points per 100 possessions) and 56th in defensive efficiency (98.1).
• Carolina is fifth in the ACC in offensive efficiency behind Miami, which is sixth nationally, Wake Forest (27th), Virginia Tech (28th) and NC State (37th).
• The Tar Heels have committed the 17th-fewest turnovers per possession, but dropped to 337th in the nation in forcing turnovers.
• Notre Dame is second in the country in turnover percentage.
• Carolina's non-conference schedule is the 18th-most difficult in the country (UNC was 8-3 in non-conference play this season).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (WINS & LOSSES)
• Carolina is averaging 82.5 points in its 16 wins and 71.1 (11.4 fewer) in the 11 losses.
• The opponents are scoring 77.1 points in their 11 wins and 69.6 in UNC's victories. Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Miami are the three teams to score 80 or more points in regulation in beating Carolina (Alabama had 78 in the four-overtime win in November).
• Carolina is shooting 47.0% from the floor in the wins and 39.7% in its losses.
• The Tar Heels make 7.8 threes at 34.7% in the wins and 5.5 threes at 24.7% in the losses.
• Carolina's best three-point percentage in a loss this season was 33.3% at Virginia (8 for 24).
• UNC is 46 for 187 (24.6%) from three-point range in its eight ACC losses.
• Carolina is 7-0 this season when shooting 35% or higher from three-point range with wins over Portland, The Citadel, Michigan, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Syracuse and Clemson.
• The Tar Heels are 9-11 when shooting under 35% from three.
• Carolina has a rebounding edge of 7.0 per game in the wins and 1.9 per game in the losses. That includes a 48-34 advantage for the Tar Heels in the loss at NC State.
• The Tar Heels are a combined plus 58 in assists/turnovers in the wins and minus 24 in the losses.
• The opponents are a combined plus 30 assist/turnovers in UNC's losses and have 16 more turnovers than assists in Carolina's wins.
• UNC averages 14.1 assists in its wins and 9.3 in the losses.
• UNC has outscored the opponents, 250-181, in points off turnovers in the Tar Heels' 16 wins, including 24-10 vs. Charleston, 27-12 vs. Ohio State, 32-8 vs. Wake Forest, 23-8 at Louisville and 20-14 at Syracuse.
• The opponents have outscored the Tar Heels, 150-87, in points off turnovers in the losses. That includes a 15-point advantage by Iowa State, a seven-point edge by Alabama, a 17-4 advantage at Indiana, a 12-6 margin at Pittsburgh, a 19-10 advantage by Virginia and 16-3 by NC State.
• Carolina is 9-2 in games when it has scored more points off turnovers than its opponents.
• The Tar Heels are 5-8 when the opponents score more points off turnovers (and 2-1 when even).
• The opponents have scored at least 40 paint points five times in the UNC losses, including 40 by Alabama, 50 by Indiana, 42 by Virginia Tech, 42 at Pittsburgh and 42 at NC State (the box score says 46 but the first two field goals were listed incorrectly as paint points).
• Carolina is 10-5 when it scores more paint points and 5-6 when the opponents have more.
• Carolina is 6-2 this season when holding the opponents to fewer than 30 paint points (only losses to Iowa State and to Pittsburgh in Chapel Hill).
• Carolina has scored 80 or more points 13 times. The Tar Heels are 11-2 in those games, losing 103-101 in four overtimes vs. Alabama (scored 77 in the regulation) and 92-85 at Wake Forest.
• Bacot is averaging 19.3 points in the wins and 14.1 in the losses. However, Bacot only played 1:18 in the loss at Virginia (and did not play at Virginia Tech). He is averaging 15.7 in the nine losses other than Virginia and Virginia Tech.
• Caleb Love is shooting 40.8% from the floor, including 30.9% from three, and has 53 assists/35 turnovers in the wins; in the losses, Love is shooting 36.5% from the floor (31.5% from three) and has 24 assists/29 turnovers).
• RJ Davis is averaging 16.6 points, is shooting 47.2% from the floor (42.2% from three) and has 60 assists/29 turnovers in the wins; in the losses, he is averaging 14.5 points, is shooting 35.7% from the floor (21.1% from three) and has 30 assists/23 turnovers.
• Pete Nance is shooting 45% from the floor (37.8% from three) in the wins and 39.3% from the floor (18.9% from three) in the losses. Nance is 33 for 39 (.846) from the free throw line in the wins and 18 for 26 in the losses (.692).

MISCELLANEOUS
• Carolina's 11 losses are against teams with a combined record of 195-74 (.725) through 2/20/23 (Alabama 23-4, Miami 22-5, Virginia 21-4, NC State 21-7, Duke 20-8, Pittsburgh 19-8, Indiana 19-8, Iowa State 17-9, Wake Forest 17-10, Virginia Tech 16-11).
• Every team that has beaten Carolina has a winning record and five have 20 wins (through February 20).
• Carolina's three-point percentage (.307) is 325th in the country and the second-lowest in school history (.304 in 2019-20).
• Bacot is 18th in the country in offensive rebounding percentage and averages 5.5 offensive rebounds per 40 minutes. Puff Johnson is second on the team with 2.8 per 40.
• Love made 7 of 12 field goals vs. Clemson (6 of 9 from three). The Tar Heels are 5-1 this season and 16-3 in his career when Love shoots 50% or higher from the floor.
• The Tar Heels are 10-2 this season and 38-12 in three seasons when Love has more assists than turnovers.
• Bacot leads Carolina in scoring (career-high 17.3 ppg), rebounding (11.1 rpg), offensive rebounding (career-high 4.3), blocks (28) and field goal percentage (.563). Last season, he became the first Tar Heel ever to lead UNC in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocked shots in consecutive seasons, and he is on pace to accomplish that again this season.
• The last player to lead the Tar Heels in scoring and rebounding in three straight seasons was Tyler Hansbrough, who is the only Tar Heel to accomplish that in four consecutive seasons (2006-07-08-09).
• Bacot is one of three Tar Heels with 1,700 career points, 1,000 rebounds and 150 blocks with Sam Perkins and Brice Johnson (block totals are unknown for Billy Cunningham).
• Carolina is 12-3 this season and 33-10 in his career when Bacot attempts more than six free throws in a game. The Tar Heels are 4-7 this season and 43-40 over the last four seasons when he attempts six or fewer.
• Carolina's bench has outscored the opponents seven times this season. The Tar Heels are 4-3 in those games.
• The opponents are averaging 4.9 more bench points per game. The UNC bench combined for 25 points vs. Clemson, which was its highest point production since it scored 26 at Louisville on January 14.
• The 25 bench points vs. the Tigers were the third most in a game this season (42 vs. The Citadel and 26 at Louisville).
• Freshman Tyler Nickel's 16 points vs. The Citadel were his season high and the most by a Tar Heel non-starter this season. They were the most by a Tar Heel non-starter (in a non-Senior Day game) since Johnson had 16 in the win at NC State last February.

RECORD BOOK UPDATES
• Carolina has an NCAA-record 81 1,000-point scorers, including Caleb Love, Armando Bacot and RJ Davis. Bacot scored his 1,000th point last year in Chapel Hill vs. NC State, Love vs. Portland in November and Davis in January at home vs. Wake Forest.
• With 16 points at NC State Bacot passed George Lynch for 16th in career scoring at UNC with 1,750 points. He needs 16 points to pass Mike O'Koren for 15th place.
• Love passed Danny Green and Ty Lawson in the game at NC State for 42nd in career scoring.
• Bacot has 10 or more rebounds in a UNC-record 73 games. He passed Billy Cunningham, who had 61 in three seasons from 1962-65.
• Bacot is Carolina's all-time leader in rebounds (1,290) and double-doubles (66), is second in offensive rebounds per game (3.61), second in offensive rebounds (455) and sixth in rebounds per game (10.2). He is one of eight Tar Heels to average a career double-double (13.9/10.2).
• Sean May and Bacot are the only Tar Heels to average career double-doubles in the last 50 years.
• Bacot has 66 double-doubles in 126 games (double-doubles in 52.4% of his games). Only Cunningham (87.0%) recorded double-doubles in a higher percentage of games by a Tar Heel.
• Bacot set UNC single-season records last year with 511 rebounds, 31 double-doubles, five 20-rebound games (tied), 32 games with 10 or more rebounds, rebounds in an NCAA Tournament and rebounds by a Tar Heel in the Elite 8, national semifinal and championship games.
• Bacot became the first player in NCAA Tournament history with six double-doubles in one year and tied the NCAA single-season record for double-doubles with 31 (Navy's David Robinson also had 31 in 1985-86).
• Bacot grabbed a career-high 23 rebounds in UNC's 80-64 win over previously unbeaten James Madison on November 20.
• Bacot is ninth in UNC history in free throw attempts and 10th in free throws made (429 for 650).
• RJ Davis is tied with Danny Green for third all-time at UNC in free throw percentage.
• Love made at least one three-pointer in a UNC-record 45 consecutive games, a streak that began last season and ended at Louisville on January 14. He broke Marcus Paige's previous mark of 41.
• Last season, Love made 40 consecutive free throws, the second-longest streak in school history (one off the record by Jeff Lebo).
• Love has attempted 585 three-pointers, third most by a Tar Heel, and is 10th in made threes with 189. He passed Reggie Bullock for made threes at NC State.
• Love has made a three in 81 of 95 career games.
• Love is one of five Tar Heels with 1,300 points, 300 assists and 175 three-pointers (also Joel Berry II, Jeff Lebo, Marcus Paige and Shammond Williams).
• Love has 99 steals. Berry, Lebo and Paige are among that same group who also had 100 steals.
• Leaky Black has played in 149 games in five seasons. He has played in the fourth-most games by a Tar Heel, and is on pace to break Deon Thompson's school record for games played (152).
• Black is one of two current Tar Heels to start at least 100 career games. Bacot has made 125 starts and Black has 124. Pete Nance, who played four seasons at Northwestern, has made 99 career starts.

BACOT: SIX-TIME ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Bacot has earned three ACC Player-of-the-Week awards this season.
• Bacot has won ACC Player of the Week six times in his career (all in the last two seasons), which equals Phil Ford for the third most all-time by a Tar Heel.
• Antawn Jamison (ACC-record 12) and Tyler Hansbrough (11) are the only Tar Heels to have won the award more than Bacot.
• Bacot's ACC Player-of-the-Week honors this season were a product of his performances against The Citadel and Ohio State in December, Wake Forest and Notre Dame games in early January and Boston College and NC State games in mid January.

NOVEMBER SIGNEES
• Carolina signed two players to National Letters of Intent in November 2022.
• Zayden High, a 6-10 forward from San Antonio, Texas. High attends AZ Compass Prep in Chandler, Ariz., where he plays for Coach Ed Gipson.
• Simeon Wilcher, a 6-5 guard from Plainfield, N.J. Wilcher plays for Coach Dave Boff at Roselle Catholic High School in Roselle, N.J.

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Players Mentioned

Armando Bacot

Leaky Black

RJ Davis

D'Marco Dunn

Puff Johnson

Caleb Love

Pete Nance

Tyler Nickel