#12 Notre Dame Outmatched by #5 North Carolina; Year Two of the Micah Shrewsberry Era Ends in Blowout

The Fighting Irish Men’s Basketball season has come to a close after a 76-56 defeat in the ACC Tournament Second Round at the hands of North Carolina.

Photo via Notre Dame Athletics

It appeared Notre Dame’s tank had run out following three-straight wins by one possession to begin this game with the Tar Heels. Less than five minutes into the contest, UNC held a 17-5 lead after Jae’lyn Withers knocked down his third three-pointer of the half. After a pair of free throws and another three-pointer, UNC extended their lead to 14, 22-8, with 10:46 left in the half. Notre Dame cut the deficit in half with a 7-0 run led by Markus Burton with 8:54 on the clock, bringing the score to 22-15. From 7:43-2:58, the Tar Heels got hot and went on a 16-3 run, giving the opposition a 41-20 lead. Withers and former Notre Dame player, Ven-Allen Lubin, combined for 12 of the Tar Heels' points on this game-defining run. The Irish were able to close the half on a 9-2 run, including a last-second three from Matt Allocco, to cut the UNC lead to 43-29 at the break.

Withers led all first-half scorers with 15 points on 5-6 shooting from three. Allocco paced the Irish offense with nine points on 3-4 shooting from deep. Tae Davis also contributed seven points for the Irish in 18 minutes played. The Tar Heels found their rhythm early, shooting 9-17 from three to help balloon their 14-point halftime lead. 

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The second half was more of the same as UNC made it clear they would not give up their lead. A 5-0 run led by Lubin pushed the Tar Heels' lead to 48-31, 1:35 into the half. Both teams traded baskets as the Irish could not string together a run, until a Nikita Konstantynovskyi layup with 6:39 remaining made the score 65-47. A 6-0 run from UNC pushed their lead to a game-high 24 points, 71-47, with 3:57 to play. The Irish played hard the final few minutes but were all out of gas as they saw their season end in a 76-56 defeat in the ACC Tournament Second Round. 

Lubin led all second-half scorers with nine points on 4-7 shooting from the field as seven different Tar Heels got on the board during the frame. Burton led the Irish offense with six points in 16 minutes played as eight different Notre Dame players recorded a point in the half as the benches were emptied before the final whistle. Fortunately for the Irish, UNC’s three-ball cooled off in the second half, however, they still shot 50% from the field as they outpaced Notre Dame all game.

This loss concludes Notre Dame’s season (15-18) as they look ahead to year three of the Micah Shrewsberry era featuring a seat that may be getting warm.

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