Instant observations: Notre Dame annihilated by North Carolina

After winning five of six games, Notre Dame’s hot streak ran into a brick wall named North Carolina. The No. 7 Tar Heels wiped the floor with the Irish on their senior night, winning 84-51.

Notre Dame is 12-18 (7-12 Atlantic Coast Conference) with one regular-season game — at Virginia Tech, 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday — to go. Here are Blue & Gold’s instant observations.

Irish had to be flawless to challenge Heels, and they were not

• As well as Notre Dame has been playing over the past month, facing this North Carolina team at the Dean E. Smith Center is a different animal. The Irish had to play mistake-free basketball to stand a chance against RJ Davis, Armando Bacot, Harrison Ingram and, yes, former Notre Dame fixture Cormac Ryan. They did not do that.

• Offensively, the Irish went 5-for-19 from 3-point range, missing several open looks. They bricked 6 free throws. They turned it over 5 times in the first 9 minutes of action and 12 times total, although they were good about getting back on defense and not letting the Tar Heels score in transition. And to North Carolina’s credit, most of the bad Notre Dame offense was forced by great defense. UNC seemed like it had hands in almost every passing lane and didn’t make a single dribble easy for Notre Dame.

• The Heels also made life miserable for the Irish at the rim, where Bacot is at his best. Notre Dame finished 8-for-25 on layups — layups. Many were tightly contested, but the Irish skunked a few, too. They couldn’t afford to do that and still make it a game.

• On the other end, North Carolina shot out of its mind. Davis is the ACC Player of the Year, and he showed why with 22 points. He was unguardable. Ingram made several tough shots, finishing with 11. Sophomore forward Jalen Washington had made 6 triples all season, and he made 2 Tuesday night. Even Bacot — playing his last game in Chapel Hill, N.C. — made 2 3s, and when that happens, you might as well go home.

• However, Notre Dame didn’t help itself defensively with a few missed assignments and switches. Carolina did a great job scheming Ryan open for 3s, and he scored with 14 against his former team. The Irish blew a couple switches, leading to open layups. Bottom line: The Heels made enough contested shots to win this game on their own, but Notre Dame didn’t help itself defensively.

Tiny silver lining: Davis scores double digits again

• Notre Dame sophomore forward Tae Davis scored 11 points Tuesday night. It was his fourth-straight game with double-digit points and fifth in his last six.

• Davis didn’t exactly execute well near the rim, going 4-for 11, but he continued to play with the aggressiveness that the Irish want to see from him. Plus, he even made a rare 3-pointer. Davis’ game was the only thing resembling a positive on an ugly night for Notre Dame.

Notre Dame has to wash this one

• The Irish got run off the floor on Senior Night in Chapel Hill. It happens. Bacot and Davis helped lead the Heels to the national championship game two years ago, and with Ingram and Ryan playing as well as they are right now, they’re a real contender to do that again.

• That being said, it shouldn’t change the national perception about Notre Dame as a team that improved significantly throughout the season and is on the rise going forward. More importantly, it shouldn’t change Notre Dame’s perception about itself. The Irish need to quickly recover and focus on Virginia Tech, whom they visit Saturday.

• With one game to go in the regular season, Notre Dame can slot between 11th and 14th in the ACC. The Irish can still close this season on a high note with a win — maybe even two, given how they’d been playing before the trip to UNC — in the conference tournament. Tuesday night’s game shouldn’t affect that, and if what we know about Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry is any indication, it won’t.

The post Instant observations: Notre Dame annihilated by North Carolina appeared first on On3.