No. 7 North Carolina looks to have a measure of revenge today when it takes on Notre Dame at 7PM ET in the ACC Tournament semifinal.
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The Pitt Panthers hung with No. 1 seed North Carolina for quite awhile in the first game of day three at the ACC Tournament on Thursday afternoon. A win over Georgia Tech or Virginia Tech in the final games of the regular season could’ve cemented a bid.
This game will be broadcast on ESPN with live streaming on WatchESPN, which can be accessed using a cable or satellite subscription online or through the ESPN app.
Though Virginia led 11th-ranked Miami from wire to wire, the Hurricanes staged a late comeback effort, pulling to within three points in the final few minutes of the game. That’s a lot better than we’ve been doing.
Bennett knew the game took plenty out of his team. “I tell our guys all the time I like to win in the 80’s and 90’s”, head coach Roy Williams said. In all, Carolina held the Cavs to 37 percent shooting.
It was Demetrius Jackson and Bonzie Colson who paced Notre Dame in last month’s regular-season meeting, scoring 19 points apiece in an 80-76 home win February 6.
UNC enters the championship game coming off of perhaps its most dominant performance of the season. Malcolm Brogdon scored 24 points to lead Virginia.
North Carolina had been on the other side, the wrong side, of game-defining runs against Notre Dame. There, he pushed the team to the play-in game and, in theory, potentially out altogether just because those teams represent the final four slots.
“Here it is the NCAA tournament and there are things we need to work on and try to be better at before we play again”, Brey said. The duo combined for six points and the Tar Heels went on a 10-0 run to end the half. “I think those were the times they were able to get a lead or run with the lead because we’re playing on our heels and they’re still attacking”.
After Pittsburgh tied the score at 45, guard Marcus Paige’s 3-pointer and Pinson’s basket in the lane steadied the Tar Heels. During that stretch UNC outscored Virginia 13-5, turning a four-point deficit into a 48-44 lead with six minutes remaining. Turns out they may have been saving their best stuff for March, because that was a downright terrifying-looking team in the semifinal vs. Notre Dame.
Williams proceeded to run down the list of tournament teams North Carolina has faced this year, including Louisville as a team that “would probably make the tournament”.
Malcolm Brogdon says, “We didn’t let them get any offensive rebounds, not as many as they are used to and we got back on defense in transition. and didn’t let them get any easy buckets”. “I was even dumb enough to tell them about [Muhammad] Ali and [Joe] Frazier when I was a college student going to see that, how they fought and fought and fought, and we thought it would be that kind of game because we have the greatest respect for Virginia’s program”.
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North Carolina had plenty of players who were tough on the Panthers, but one who stood out in Dixon’s mind was Joel Berry II, who was 7 of 8 from the field and scored a team-high 20 points.
