The Tar Heels did not deserve to win – but they almost did anyway.

Playing with a thin roster, Carolina’s poor defense and inability to match Notre Dame’s early 3-point shooting dug what looked like an insurmountable hole.

After falling behind by 13 points in the second half, Hubert Davis called timeout and returned with a small lineup that forced the Fighting Irish out of their (comfort) zone.

Caleb Love, cold and frustrated by his two-point first half, led runs of 8-0 and 9-2 as the Heels roared back to take the lead on a post move by Armando Bacot, who had his fifth straight double-double long before.

While on the verge of completing a dramatic comeback, they had shots roll off the rim, committed the last of their 14 turnovers and let the Irish get open for two more 3-pointers that sealed their 78-73 win to match UNC’s conference record of 2-1.

It looked like missed long shots (1-9) in the first half mattered more than missing Dawson Garcia (concussion), Justin McKoy and Kerwin Walton (COVID protocol), and at the end of what became a close game that trio might have made a play on either end that got the Heels over the hump.

Davis preaches effort, energy and toughness. It wasn’t there for much of the first 26 minutes but sure was the last 14. When it might have been quitting time, his guys didn’t. And he can show them exactly where they need to improve to keep it from happening again.

Foremost, Carolina has to help Bacot when he is having a dominating game (21 and 17) in the paint, where the Heels wound up outscoring the Irish 32-8. Garcia probably could have done that on this night.

On the perimeter, they have to fight through screens harder or switch better and close out on 3-point shooters faster while showing ball movement that leads to more than 10 assists on 29 made baskets.

It wasn’t a terrible loss to a good team on the road and showed that toughness to fight off a bad start with a short bench in a hostile arena. Certainly, a fourth straight road victory was preferable, and how they came back to nearly pull it out made the result one that should not affect their NCAA tournament resume too negatively.

The rally did not end gallantly, but it was definitely something to build on. Like against Virginia Saturday at home, a game that now looms as a must-win, hopefully with a longer lineup.

 

Photo via AP Photo/Robert Franklin.


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