North Carolina has climbed all the way to No.2 in the rankings, but something is still off with the team. They do not look like the guaranteed threat to stay at the top like the used to and now they go into a game against a team that has turned into one of their biggest rivals. After losing twice to the Fighting Irish last year, the Tar Heels are seeking redemption as the two teams face off for the first time this season in ACC play.
Notre Dame had one of their bests seasons in school history last year and North Carolina fell victim to it twice. They lost once in early January and then again in the ACC Conference tournament. The Irish beat the Tar Heels for the championship and now they enter this matchup with a lot of confidence despite not being ranked at all this year.
Notre Dame is not the team they were last year. The team is trying to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time in years as they get the Tar Heels at home. They have a hard stretch of games ahead with matchups against Clemson Louisville on the horizon. North Carolina would love to secure a win heading into those games as they are 6-4 in ACC play right now. They are coming off a loss to Miami where they struggled on defense despite the score being 79-70. At one point the team trailed by 20, they cannot afford to make the mistakes against North Carolina despite the team also coming off a loss.
The Tar Heels recently fell to Louisville where the were outrebounded while the team is in a shooting slump. They have yet to shoot over 40 percent in three of their last four games after shooting 45 percent in the first 17 games of the season. Against Louisville they shot just 34.5 percent. Marcus Paige is falling victim to the slump as he is shooting just 21 percent overall including 14 percent from long range. Head coach Roy Williams is concerned that the intensity of the team is falling as they prepare to play a road game in a tough environment.
"Well, we got our tails beat the last game," Williams said, via ESPN.com. "If you don't step up right now, there's something wrong with you. So I fully expect that we'll even play at a higher level of intensity than we did on Monday night against Louisville just because we got it handed to ourselves last game."
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