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UNC Aims to End Skid Against Notre Dame
21 Jan
Summary
- North Carolina lost eight spots in AP poll after two road defeats.
- Tar Heels' defense struggles with opponent 3-point shooting.
- Notre Dame has lost four consecutive games, facing UNC.
No. 22 North Carolina will host Notre Dame on Wednesday, seeking to halt a two-game losing streak. The Tar Heels dropped eight spots in the AP Top 25 poll following recent road defeats to Cal and Stanford, where their defense struggled significantly against the three-point line. Stanford shot 57.1% and Cal shot 53.8% from three-point range in those games, marking the highest percentages UNC has allowed this season.
Coach Hubert Davis acknowledged that the loss to Stanford seemed to linger, impacting the team's performance against Cal. He emphasized the importance of reaction and response, stating his unhappiness with the team's approach in those two games. The challenge for North Carolina is to prevent a second consecutive loss from becoming a third.
Notre Dame arrives in Chapel Hill with their own four-game losing streak. In their most recent game, a 89-76 loss to Virginia Tech, the Fighting Irish shot just 25% from three-point range. They also allowed Virginia Tech to shoot 50.9% from the field and were dominated in the paint, a problem they may continue to face due to injuries. Senior forward Kebba Njie is out for the season, and leading scorer Markus Burton remains sidelined with an ankle injury.
