CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Likely needing a deep run in this ACC Tournament to keep its basketball season afloat, North Carolina got started with few hiccups on Wednesday afternoon.
The Tar Heels opened the conference tournament by stomping Notre Dame 76-56, a second-round rout at the Spectrum Center powered by Jae’Lyn Withers’ record 3-point shooting.
Withers delivered a career-high 21 points on the strength of seven 3-point makes, reaching the mark for UNC’s most successful 3-pointers in the program’s ACC Tournament history. Withers grabbed nine rebounds to go along with his 7-for-10 shooting beyond the arc.
Ven-Allen Lubin supplied 17 points and 10 rebounds, while RJ Davis contributed 13 points and six assists for the fifth-seeded Tar Heels (21-12), who will turn the page to Thursday afternoon’s important matchup in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals against fourth-seeded Wake Forest. Effectively, that could be an elimination game for NCAA Tournament consideration, with UNC and the Demon Deacons both on bubble watch.
Carolina held Notre Dame guard Markus Burton, the top scorer in the ACC, more than 11 points below his season average. Burton finished with 11 points on 3-for-11 shooting from the field Wednesday, as the season came to an end for 12th-seeded Fighting Irish (15-18).
(Photo: Jim Hawkins / Inside Carolina)
Hot 3-point shooting fuels Tar Heels’ first-half lead
Carolina led 43-29 by halftime, after Notre Dame’s Matt Allocco sank a 3-pointer just before the horn on a kick-out pass from Markus Burton. The Fighting Irish closed the first half with six straight points, to trim UNC’s lead, which stretched as wide as 21 points during the first half.
The Tar Heels connected on nine 3-point makes in the game’s first 14 minutes, with Jae’Lyn Wither burying an effectively unconscious 5-for-6 beyond the arc during that stretch. Withers had produced 15 points by halftime, and he was feeling it here in his hometown, blowing kisses at times and raising his index finger to his lips at others.
Withers delivered his 3-pointers in bunches. Early on, he hit three straight, a back-to-back-to-back burst from downtown, igniting UNC’s rapid 17-5 lead. That had Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry burning a timeout just five minutes into the game. Thirteen of Carolina’s first 19 shots from the field were 3-point attempts, and as the Tar Heels led 27-17, coach Hubert Davis implored “attack, attack, attack” amid a timeout huddle.
When big man Jalen Washington knocked down a 3 from the top of the key, UNC had started the game 6-for-9 from 3-point range, and four Tar Heels had made 3-pointers — Withers (three), Washington (one), Drake Powell (one) and Elliot Cadeau (one). Ven-Allen Lubin added eight points and five rebounds in the first half, while RJ Davis chipped in seven points and five assists.
Next on the schedule
UNC advances to the ACC Tournament quarterfinals and will meet fourth-seeded Wake Forest (21-10) on Thursday afternoon in the second game of the day. The Tar Heels and Demon Deacons will be squaring off in the conference tournament for the first time since March 2000.
Carolina leads the all-time series 165-70 against Wake Forest, after falling 67-66 on the road in January in the only matchup between the teams during the regular season. UNC entered last weekend’s regular-season finale tied with SMU for fourth place in the conference standings, with Wake Forest a game behind in sixth place. UNC’s loss to Duke, coupled with Wake Forest’s blowout of Georgia Tech and SMU’s loss at Florida State, left the Tar Heels with the fifth seed for the conference tournament. The Demon Deacons picked up the fourth seed and a double bye to the quarterfinal round.
