UNC vs. Notre Dame: Game preview, broadcast info, prediction and more

UNC seeks its first road ACC win of the 2018 season as they invade South Bend for a game against Notre Dame

After a disappointing week in which the North Carolina Tar Heels went 0-2 on the road with losses at Florida State and Virginia, they now have a chance to have a perfect week.

UNC hits the road for the third time in the last four games, seeking to get over the .500 mark in ACC play.

It won’t be an easy task.

The Tar Heels are in South Bend, Indiana this week for a matchup against Notre Dame who sits at 3-1 in ACC play. A win from the Tar Heels will move them to 3-2 on the season and drop the Fighting Irish to 3-2 in a conference that hasn’t spread itself out yet aside from Virginia.

A win would also give the Tar Heels their first road win of the ACC season.

As mentioned, UNC is coming off a big win over Boston College at home on Tuesday night. It was a game in which they dominated from the start backed by Luke Maye’s career-high 33 points and 18 rebounds.

The performance was the best we’ve seen of UNC early in conference play and now they hope to keep that rolling.

The Fighting Irish come into the game fresh off a loss at Georgia Tech just a few days back. That came following a big win over Syracuse without both Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell.

Colson will miss a few more weeks for the Fighting Irish. Farrell’s injury isn’t as severe but he’s been ruled as doubtful for Saturday’s game due to the ankle injury.

Losing both Colson and Farrell is a significant blow to the Fighting Irish. Barring a last-minute change, it will be TJ Gibbs and Rex Pflueger eating up most of the minutes in the backcourt for the Fighting Irish.

That should be advantage UNC as they have Joel Berry, Kenny Williams, Jalek Felton and Theo Pinson in their backcourt.

The way for UNC to win the game is with strong guard play, getting up early and dominating the boards.

UNC enters the game No. 1 in the nation in rebounding, averaging 44.6 per game. They go up against a Fighting Irish squad that is tied for 148th in the nation averaging 36.6 a game.

Notre Dame will play a similar style as Virginia, spreading out the floor and wearing down the shot clock with good defensive possessions. But for UNC, they must avoid playing this game in the 50’s and 60’s and instead turn it into a track meet.

What you need to know

WHAT? North Carolina (13-4, 2-2 in ACC) at Notre Dame (13-4, 3-1 in ACC)
WHEN? Saturday, January 13th at 6:00 p.m. EST
WHERE? Purcell Pavillon in South Bend, Indiana
TV? ESPN. (Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas)
RADIO? Tar Heel Sports Network
LINE? UNC -5
SERIES HISTORY: UNC leads all-time series, 21-7.
PREDICTION? UNC 78, Notre Dame 73