(Courtesy of UNC Sports Information)

Postgame Notes

NCAA East Final (Elite 8), North Carolina 88, Notre Dame 74

March 27, 2016

  • Carolina is now 32-6 this season and 116-44 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.
  • This is the 10th season UNC has won at least 32 games and the fifth under head coach Roy Williams.
  • Carolina is now 19-7 in regional finals, including 4-3 under head coach Roy Williams.
  • The Tar Heels advance to the Final 4 for the record 19th time (1946, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2016).
  • Carolina is the only school to play in the Final 4 in eight consecutive decades – the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.
  • Roy Williams is now fourth in Final 4s for coaches with eight. He has more Final 4 appearances than any coach except John Wooden (12), Mike Krzyzewski (12) and Dean Smith (11).
  • Williams is 69-23 in the NCAA Tournament. He has tied Dean Smith for second place in games with 92, is second in wins with 69 and is tied for third in winning percentage among coaches with at least 50 games in the Tournament history (.750).
  • Williams has won 35 NCAA Tournament games in 12 appearances at Carolina and won 34 games in 14 appearances at Kansas.
  • Williams is 35-9 in the NCAA Tournament at Carolina. His winning percentage at UNC (.795) is the highest in ACC history.
  • The Tar Heels are 54-10 as a No. 1 seed.
  • Carolina will be playing an ACC opponent in the Final 4 for the second time. In 1981, Carolina beat Virginia in the national semifinals.
  • The Tar Heels shot 61.5 percent from the floor, the highest percentage in any of UNC’s 26 regional championship games. The previous high was .605 vs. Kentucky in 1977.
  • The Tar Heels shot a season-high 61.5 percent from the floor. The previous high was .593 vs. Pitt on 2/14.
  • The Tar Heels are now 21-1 when they shoot 50 percent or better from the floor.
  • The Tar Heels are 9-1 this year when they shoot 50 percent or better in the second half.
  • This was the 10th time this season UNC has shot 50 percent or better in both halves.
  • The Tar Heels shot 83.3 percent from the free throw line and are 13-2 this year when shooting 80 percent or better from the line.
  • Carolina is 11-0 this year at neutral sites.
  • Notre Dame shot 55.1 percent from the floor. That’s the highest percentage against UNC this season and just the second time the opponents have shot 50 percent or better from the floor (Maryland shot .508 on 12/1/15).
  • The Irish is the first team to shoot at least 45 percent from the floor in 29 games.
  • The first half was the best shooting performance by both teams in a UNC NCAA Tournament game (UNC .640, Notre Dame .583) since 1982 when Carolina shot 75.0 percent and Villanova shot 60.7 percent in the second half in the East Region final at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh.
  • Carolina out-rebounded Notre Dame, 32-15. The previous low number of rebounds by an opponent was 22 by UNCG. It was the first time an opponent had fewer than 20 rebounds since Florida State had 19 on 1/12/13.
  • Carolina had a 23-6 edge in second-chance points. UNC is 25-1 this year when it has more second-chance points.
  • Carolina out-scored the Irish, 42-30, in points in the paint. The Tar Heel are now 23-1 this year when they score 40 points in the paint.
  • Carolina shot 64.0 percent from the floor in the first half. That was the third time in four halves over three NCAA Tournament games the Tar Heels shot 60 percent from the floor (.607 in second half vs. Providence, .621 in first half vs. Indiana and .640 in first half vs. Notre Dame).
  • It was the eighth time this year UNC has shot 60 percent in a half. The Tar Heel are 8-0 in those games.
  • Brice Johnson led five Tar Heel starters in double figures with 25 points. The Tar Heels are 16-1 this year when at least five players score in double figures.
  • The Tar Heels scored 88 points, the 25th time in 38 games this season UNC scored 80 or more points. The Tar Heels are now 24-1 when scoring at least 80 points this year.
  • Trailing 51-40, Notre Dame scored 12 consecutive points in 1:50. The Tar Heels then answered with a 12-0 run of their own in 3:20. UNC led 63-52 after those back-to-back 12-point runs.
  • Carolina plays Syracuse on Saturday, April 2, in NRG Stadium in Houston.
  • The Tar Heels are 4-1 all-time in the city of Houston

– beat Rice, 99-87, at Autry Court on 12/22/69

– beat Houston, 96-87, at Hofheinz Pavilion on 12/7/74

– lost to Louisville, 79-94, at the Summit on 3/20/86 (in the NCAA West Region semifinal)

– beat Houston, 68-65, at Hofheinz Pavilion on 11/27/91

– beat Texas A&M, 82-60, at Compaq Center (formerly the Summit) on 12/9/2000

  • The Tar Heels are 12-10 in the state of Texas all-time
  • Carolina is 7-4 all-time against Syracuse (1-2 in NCAA Tournament play), 3-0 all-time vs. Oklahoma (2-0 in NCAA Tournament play) and 11-4 all-time vs. Villanova (5-1 in NCAA Tournament play)

 

PLAYER NOTES

  • First-team All-America forward Brice Johnson scored 25 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. It was his 23rd double-double of the season (33 career). That sets a new record for most double-doubles in Carolina single-season history. Billy Cunningham held the previous mark with 22 in 1964.
  • Brice Johnson was named the East Regional MVP. He joins the following Tar Heels as NCAA regional MVPs (note Mark Macon of Temple was the MVP when UNC won the East in 1991)

Lennie Rosenbluth (1957)

Bob Lewis (1967)

Rusty Clark (1968)

Charles Scott (1969)

Dennis Wuycik (1972)

John Kuester (1977)

Al Wood (1981)

James Worthy (1982)

George Lynch (1993)

Jerry Stackhouse (1995)

Shammond Williams (1997)

Antawn Jamison (1998)

Joseph Forte (2000)

Sean May (2005)

Tyler Hansbrough (2008)

Ty Lawson (2009)

  • Johnson is the eighth Tar Heel to score at least 25 points in a regional final (Tyler Hansbrough did it twice):

Charles Scott (32 vs. Davidson in 1969)

Bob Lewis (31 vs. Boston College in 1967)

Sean May (29 vs. Wisconsin in 2005)

Tyler Hansbrough (28 vs. Louisville in 2008)

Joseph Forte (28 vs. Stanford in 2000)

Tyler Hansbrough (26 vs. Georgetown in 2007)

Michael Jordan (26 vs. Georgia in 1983)

Brice Johnson (25 vs. Notre Dame in 2016)

Kenny Smith (25 vs. Syracuse in 1987)

  • Johnson is the 10th Tar Heel and the first since John Henson in 2011 to have at least three double-doubles in the same NCAA Tournament.
  • Carolina is 20-3 this year when Johnson has a double-double.
  • Johnson had his eighth 20-point/10-rebound game of the season, including each of the last three NCAA Tournament games.
  • Johnson scored in double figures for the 35th time this year. UNC is 20-3 when Johnson has a double-double this year.
  • Johnson has 399 rebounds this year, which ties Tyler Hansbrough for the single-season school record (in 2008). He passed Antawn Jamison (389 in 1998) and Sean May (397 in 2005) with his 12 rebounds vs. Notre Dame.
  • Johnson has 1,018 career rebounds. He passed Mitch Kupchak (1,006) for sixth place in UNC history.
  • Johnson was 10 for 15 from the floor. He leads the ACC in field goal percentage at .616. It was the fifth time this year he made 10 or more field goals (14 at FSU, 13 vs. Duke, 11 vs. Tulane, 11 vs. UCLA and 10 tonight vs. Notre Dame).
  • The Indiana game was the 146th game of Johnson’s college career. He is second in UNC history in games played behind only Deon Thompson (152). Danny Green is now third with 145.
  • Johnson blocked one shot and has 22 career blocks in NCAA Tournament play. He has the fourth-most by a Tar Heel all-time.
  • Marcus Paige made two three-pointers. He has hit a UNC-record 292 three-pointers in his career.
  • Paige is 13 for 27 (.481) from three-point range in the four NCAA Tournament games this season.
  • Paige has made 32 three-pointers in 11 career NCAA Tournament games. That is the second-most by a Tar Heel in NCAA Tournament history. Donald Williams, the 1993 Final Four MVP, holds the record by a Tar Heel with 38.
  • Paige scored 13 points. It was his 92nd career game in double figures (22nd this year).
  • Paige has 1,810 career points. He is 12th in school history. Bob Lewis is 11th with 1,836.
  • Kennedy Meeks scored all 10 of his points in the second half. He had 15 vs. Indiana. This is the first time in the 2016 post-season he has scored in double figures in consecutive games.
  • Joel Berry scored in double figures (11) for the 33rd time this year. UNC is 31-2 when he does.
  • Berry had eight assists, most since he had 11 vs. Appalachian State on 12/21/15. The Tar Heels are 7-1 when he has at least five assists.
  • Berry had 13 assists in the two regional games in Philadelphia. That’s the most in two games since he had 13 vs. Appalachian State (11) and UNCG (two) in December.
  • Berry had no turnovers, the 11th game this year he did not commit a turnover. He has played 20 of UNC’s 38 games this year with one or fewer turnovers.
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