University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC-Notre Dame Notes
January 6, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Postgame Notes
Notre Dame 71, North Carolina 70
January 5, 2015
• Carolina falls to 11-4 overall, 1-1 in the ACC and 5-2 at the Smith Center this year.
• The Tar Heels now lead the series against Notre Dame, 18-5.
• Freshman Theo Pinson came off the bench to play 12 second-half minutes (16 overall) and finished with seven points and a season-high eight rebounds. All seven of his points and all eight rebounds came in the second half as he sparked Carolina from an 11-point deficit to a 70-69 lead.
• Pinson led UNC in rebounding for the first time this year.
• Carolina shot 30.3 percent from the floor in the second half and 36.9 percent for the game. That was the lowest percentage in a half since shooting .268 and .296 against Iowa. The game percentage was also UNC's lowest since the Iowa game (.279).
• The Tar Heels held Notre Dame to the Irish's season low percentage from the floor – .460. The Irish had shot below 50 percent just one other time this season (.464 against Michigan State).
• Notre Dame is just the second opponent this year to shoot better than 40 percent from the floor against the Tar Heels (Kentucky shot .563).
• Kennedy Meeks went 6 for 6 from the free throw line, his best single-game percentage as a Tar Heel. He went 4 for 4 twice last year.
• Carolina had 21 offensive rebounds to Notre Dame's 20 defensive rebounds and the Tar Heels had a 21-8 edge in second-chance points, but the Irish's go-ahead and winning basket by Zach Auguste with 1:07 to play came after he grabbed an errant Notre Dame shot.
• Marcus Paige led UNC in scoring with 15 points on 6 of 17 shooting from the floor. The 17 attempts tied his season high (also attempted 17 against Butler).
• It was the first time UNC lost by a single point since an 85-84 Duke win on February 8, 2012 (on a last-second three by Austin Rivers).
