After nailing his third three-pointer of the first half in Friday night’s ACC Tournament Semifinal against Notre Dame, UNC senior guard Marcus Paige said to himself, “I’m back.”

His 16 points and seven assists then helped the No. 7 Tar Heels crush the Fighting Irish 78-47; a win so dominant it showed Paige isn’t the only one that’s back.

So, too, is the team many predicted would win a national title.

The first time these two teams played was on February 6 in South Bend—a game Notre Dame won 80-76 after rallying from 15 points down.

The Tar Heels harassed the Notre Dame offense all night long, as they put together their best defensive output of the year. (Todd Melet)

The Tar Heels harassed the Notre Dame offense all night long, as they put together their best defensive output of the year. (Todd Melet)

That was UNC’s second straight loss at the time, leaving media and fans wondering if this team had what it takes to come through in big moments.

Fast forward to Friday, and the Tar Heels were the team imposing its will—putting together their most impressive performance of the season.

After leading 23-22 with six minutes until halftime, UNC took off on a game-changing 24-0 run that stretched into the second half. Paige hit two of his four three-pointers at the beginning of that spurt—including the one that sent all of Chapel Hill into a frenzy.

“It was just a matter of time before I got my confidence back and just played the way I knew I was capable of playing,” Paige said after the game. “Just relaxing and playing basketball again and trying to have fun.

“I guess you could call it the ‘old me,’ but I didn’t think I ever left,” he continued. “Even though I hadn’t been playing at the level I’d previously been playing at.”

Not only was Paige a key contributor to the run, but senior forward Brice Johnson—the team’s All-American—wasn’t even on the floor for most of the run thanks to foul trouble.

Isaiah Hicks put up 11 points and 15 rebounds off the bench after Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks ran into foul trouble. (Todd Melet)

Isaiah Hicks put up 11 points and 15 rebounds off the bench after Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks ran into foul trouble. (Todd Melet)

With fellow big man Kennedy Meeks also battling foul problems, head coach Roy Williams decided to go small. Isaiah Hicks, who finished with 11 points and 15 rebounds, played at center while four wing players surrounded him.

The result was a more active defense that held one of the nation’s top offenses to 30 percent shooting and forced 17 turnovers in the game. This after the Fighting Irish turned the ball over just twice in their win back in February.

“I thought our effort was there,” Williams said. “I thought we talked in the first half on the defensive end of the floor maybe better than we have any game since maybe the Maryland game really, really early in the season. And played the drive a little bit better.

“But again, I think we caught Notre Dame–I think their legs were a little heavy,” the coach added, referencing the Fighting Irish’s overtime win over Duke the day before.

UNC now reaches its fifth ACC title game in the last six years, while also taking advantage of an opportunity to get revenge on a team that had beaten them three straight times—including in last year’s conference tournament final.

Those previous defeats were on the players’ minds as they refused to let off the gas down the stretch, extending the lead to as many as 37 points before it was all said and done.

Joel Berry had 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers, in the game. (Todd Melet)

Joel Berry had 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers, in the game. (Todd Melet)

“It’s pretty fun when you know you’re playing well and clicking on all cylinders,” Paige said. “But you also know against a team that came back from down [15] to beat you that there’s a lot of game left—and it’s way too early to celebrate.

“So watching that film from when we played them at their place kind of engraved in our minds that we couldn’t celebrate early.”

Rather than face more tired questions about their toughness, the Tar Heels simply did what they know how to do.

UNC won the rebounding battle 49-31, outscored Notre Dame in the paint 40-10, and got double-figure scoring performances from five players.

The fact that Paige was back as the top scorer and playmaker—appearing to break out of a mental slump that’s haunted him for months–means the ceiling on this team may be limitless heading into the most important games of the season.

“We didn’t even play great offensively, I think we shot 43 percent,” Paige said. “But our defense is definitely peaking. We’ve turned the corner a little bit defensively these past several weeks–where we’ve been holding teams to low field goal percentages, doing a better job on the backboards, and not letting teams outwork us.

“We’re definitely hitting our stride, but I still don’t know what our peak is,” he added. “Which is probably a good thing.”

Up Next:

The Tar Heels will play for the ACC Tournament Championship Saturday at 9 p.m against the No. 4 Virginia Cavaliers.

Game Notes:

  • The margin of victory (31 points) was the largest in ACC Tournament Semifinal history.
  • One of either UNC or Duke has been in the ACC Tournament Final every year since 1996.
  • UNC legends James Worthy and Antawn Jamison spoke to the team in the locker room afterwards.
  • Notre Dame came into the game as the fifth most efficient offense in the nation, according to Kenpom.com. UNC held the Fighting Irish to 15-of-50 shooting from the field (30%) and 5-of-19 from three (26%).

 

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