Little meant a lot for the Tar Heels last night.
Imagine Carolina playing two stinkers in a row at the Smith Center. Well, it almost happened against Notre Dame, which was outshooting and outscoring the Heels until late in the second half when the Irish turned cold and lost their legs in UNC’s 75-69 win.
After the Louisville egg, which seemed more like a dozen, Roy Williams talked about having to win ugly when the ball is not going in the basket. That was the case again this night, except from the three-point line where Carolina made more treys in the first eight minutes than it did in all 40 against the Cardinals.
Behind four from Coby White and three straight from Brandon Robinson, Roy’s boys shot a respectable 43 percent from the arc – better than the 38 percent they misfired from two-point range. That’s what made the game ugly until Nassir Little sparked a 12-1 run with six minutes left that ignited the crowd and secured the win despite another sub-par performance.
Williams said his team lost its brain over the last 10 minutes of the first half, losing all of its eight-point lead and going into the locker room down three when another busted defensive assignment gave Notre Dame a wide-open look that someone named Nate Laszewski drained for his only basket of the game.
The Irish hit another to start the second half following a tongue-lashing from Ol’ Roy and the ugly dogfight continued until Notre Dame got dog tired and went scoreless from the field for more than five minutes while White, Little and Cam Johnson combined for 12 points to put the game away.
Little had three dunks, a product of his coach telling him to drive the ball to the basket since his outside shots were mostly bricks; he helped turn a second straight loss into a third ACC win.
The coach did find some solace in only two second-half turnovers and having three full days to prepare for a noon game Saturday at Miami, where the Tar Heels never have it easy and will need more than a Little to bring a fourth home from Coral Gables.
Featured photo by Todd Melet
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