UNC Basketball wins ugly at Notre Dame to keep hope alive

UNC Basketball overcame their first-half struggles to finally close out a game on the road, defeating Notre Dame in a game that went down to the wire.

For most UNC Basketball fans, the first half of last night’s game at Notre Dame seemed to be the final nail in the coffin of a season that has seemed cursed from the start. Nothing seemed to go right as the Heels scored only 19 points on 18.5% shooting. This was their worst shooting half since 1980, the latest ignominious offensive (truly, in more ways than one) stat in a season full of them. This against a Notre Dame team who entered the game 10-17 on the season and 2-14 in ACC play. Even when the Irish have been good in the not-so-distant past, they’ve certainly never been known for their defense.

Things have been going wrong for Carolina for so long that it would almost have been forgivable if they sleepwalked through the second half and flew back to Chapel Hill, knowing their season was all but mercifully over. That’s not exactly what happened though. The Heels came out in the second half with a renewed energy that belied just how much they’d struggled in the opening 20 minutes, and in the process gave us hope that they can still figure it all out before the clock strikes midnight on this troubled season.

Hubert Davis, who has been on the receiving end of so much criticism from his own fan base, you’d forget he made the national championship game in his ONLY SEASON EVER, used the halftime break to turn up the pace and put a renewed emphasis on offensive rebounds and ball movement. RJ Davis got things started early in the half with back-to-back steals. The team fed off this energy, finally converting some easy baskets and quickly getting the lead back.

Armando Bacot and Leaky Black, especially, seemed to get their coach’s message, as they were under the basket on seemingly every Carolina miss to put them back in. Along with Pete Nance, they each finished with double-digit rebounds, with RJ Davis nearly joining them with eight of his own. Speaking of Nance, though his shot is still nowhere to be found (am I crazy or is every shot flat and short?), he found other ways to contribute positively. In addition to his 10 rebounds, he led the team with five assists and went 5-5 from the free throw line, and was actually the only Tar Heel to score until RJ Davis made a jumper over seven minutes into the game.

All five of Nance’s assists came in the second half. Do you know how I know this? Because Carolina didn’t have a single assist in the first half. Most of that can be attributed to actually needing to shoot the ball in the hoop in order to give someone else an assist, a thing the Heels did precious little of, but the Heels’ lack of ball movement again contributed to many contested shots. These tough looks become all the more glaring when the open ones don’t go in.

As a team, the Heels racked up eight assists in the second half, but even that total paled in comparison to the eye test. Carolina moved the ball with quickness, never letting it stall 25 feet from the hoop. Movement off the ball was done with a purpose, and passes were made with precision. The Heels were able to get the ball to Bacot in great spots numerous times in the second half, something that has been unceasingly difficult as they’ve lost five of their past six. The team finally seemed to realize that sometimes the pass isn’t there, but by switching it across the court, it can open things up once again. This sure beats forcing it into a double team for a turnover, or dribbling aimlessly well beyond the three-point line.

For all the good things the Heels did in the second half, it’s important to keep everything in perspective. They still only beat a subpar Notre Dame team by four points. They shot 2-23 from deep, somehow even worse than in that wretched Miami game. But for fans that have been agonizing all year over poor play, lack of coaching adjustments, and missed opportunities, the second half provided a blueprint for the rest of the season, and a ray of hope that maybe, just maybe, these Heels aren’t ready to roll over and die just yet.

Carolina finally closed out a tight game. They finally won on the road. And they finally played with pace and crashed the boards, the two biggest traditional indicators of what we’ve come to know as “Carolina basketball.” If UNC can keep these things up, and get even an average number of threes to fall, that could be enough to propel them into the postseason and on another run. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

For now, this is just one step in the right direction, an ugly win instead of an ugly loss. If the Heels can beat Virginia in Chapel Hill on Saturday, then we’ll get excited. Look for our preview to hit Busting Brackets in the next 24 hours.