How did Notre Dame men's basketball fare against North Carolina? Not well
Tom Noie
Four thoughts while wishing Tuesday’s second half was played with a running clock in a game that Notre Dame men’s basketball lost 84-51 to No. 7 North Carolina...
Markus Burton was mortal, and that's not good for the Irish
It took until early March and it took until the 19th game in Atlantic Coast Conference play for Irish freshman guard Markus Burton to again look average.
Playing against that team in that atmosphere, and against that guard in RJ Davis, who will likely earn ACC player of the year next week, will do that to you. It did it to Burton.
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Having been in a rhythm of a guard who seemingly had the game figured out - Burton scored double figures in 22 straight games and had at least 16 points in his previous nine - the Mishawaka native ran face first into the proverbial rookie wall barely a day after garnering his second straight league rookie of the week honor and third in the last four.
Burton played 35 minutes, but never got much of anything going. He scored nine points, his fewest since scoring six in his first ACC game in early December. He took 11 shots. He made three. He had three rebounds and four assists against four turnovers.
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Everything turned for Burton — and for the Irish — with his dubious decision halfway through the first half.
Having twice trailed by as many as six to that point, the Irish got within two before Burton led a two-on-one break. Instead of driving it hard to the hoop or dishing to fellow freshman Logan Imes, Burton decided it best to pull up. From 3. That would’ve given the Irish the lead and some needed swagger.
His miss did the opposite. Everything went sideways. Davis went down to the other end and made a 3 to put the Heels up five. He then stripped Burton near midcourt and made a layup to push the advantage to seven. A Harrison Ingram 3 made it 26-16 with 7:17 left.
Just like that – boom, boom, boom - game effectively over.
Burton can be excused for not having one of his better nights, but when he’s off, this Irish team has no chance.
Basketball is a game of runs, but that was bananas
It’s historically Rule No. 1 when playing North Carolina. Keep the Tar Heels from getting stops and getting out in transition, because when they get stops and they get out in transition at home, that 21,000-seat Smith Center feels like it holds 50,000. The whole atmosphere just feels like an avalanche for a visiting team.
It all overwhelmed Notre Dame (12-18; 7-12) not once or twice but three times. The Irish could play their best segment of offensive basketball and still not have an answer for everything North Carolina did.
The Tar Heels led by as many as 38 by running off on scoring spurts of 12-2, 16-0 and 18-0. Notre Dame has been solid defensively all year, but it hasn’t faced anywhere close to a team as lethal as that one. There’s nothing in any head coach’s playbook good enough to counter a combined scoring run of 46-2.
Not much to say after this one
Admit that when Notre Dame tumbled into a 16-point hole at halftime (41-25), part of you thought, ah, that’s nothing. The Irish were down 29 at Syracuse late last month and nearly won. They could do it again. Right?
No chance. One of those massive runs — 16-0 — opened the second half and by that time, this one was over. There wasn’t much for the Irish head coach to say afterward. So, he didn’t.
There was no official post-game presser.
“They kicked our butt from start to finish,” Shrewsberry said to a school spokesperson afterward. “It was grown men versus boys out there. We have to get better if we want to get to that level.”
Best to just get home and let this one sit. Turn the page on Thursday and Friday and be ready to compete at Virginia Tech in Saturday’s season finale. Show that Notre Dame is closer to the team that entered Tuesday’s game having won two straight and five of six instead of the team that was handed its most lopsided ACC loss since a 101-59 loss to North Carolina in the 2021 ACC tournament.
The Irish trailed that night by 52. Seriously.
We didn’t learn much Tuesday about Notre Dame. We can learn a lot Saturday.
Cormac Ryan's boast might finally come true
The statements came from nowhere over there in the corner of Rolfs Hall in October 2022. They came from a guy who hardly said anything that would classify as bulletin board material in his four years with the program.
Former Notre Dame guard Cormac Ryan still was in his feelings about having a magical run through the 2022 NCAA tournament when he met the media on the first day of practice. Having nearly willed the Irish to the Sweet 16 the previous spring, Ryan went out on a prediction limb. Like, waaaaaaay out.
Nobody asked Ryan what a veteran and experienced and seemingly still hungry Notre Dame team was capable of in 2022-23, but he offered two goals that he believed were within reach – winning the ACC regular-season championship for the first time in school history and getting to the Final Four for the firsts time since 1978.
Ryan, and the rest of a veteran Notre Dame team forgot to lead and play like veterans in a season that no one wanted to remember. In March, Ryan opted for a sixth year of college basketball at North Carolina, where he’s become a main guy, a needed guy, a respected guy.
In his first (and likely only) game against his former team, Ryan finished with 14 points and five rebounds in 31 minutes.
As for those words he spoke about Notre Dame in the fall of 2022, they may come true. For North Carolina. This month. Good for Ryan to experience life at an elite college basketball program. It's a life that Notre Dame looks a long way away from living after this one.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact: (574) 235-6153.
NO. 7 NORTH CAROLINA 84, NOTRE DAME 51
At Chapel Hill, North Carolina
NOTRE DAME (51): Booth 2-9 0-0 5, T. Davis 4-11 2-4 11, Njie 1-4 1-2 3, Burton 3-11 3-4 9, Shrewsberry 4-9 0-0 9, Konieczny 2-3 2-2 7, Zona 1-3 0-2 2, Imes 0-1 2-2 2, Roper 0-3 0-0 0, Wade 0-1 0-0 0, Braiton 0-3 0-0 0, Crowe 0-0 0-0 0, Kelly 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 18-59 10-16 51.
NORTH CAROLINA (84): Farris 0-0 0-0 0, Bacot 4-8 4-6 14, R. Davis 9-15 0-1 22, Landry 0-1 0-0 0, Lebo 0-4 0-0 0, Ingram 5-16 0-0 11, Ryan 4-9 4-6 14, Cadeau 2-4 0-1 4, Trimble 3-5 0-0 6, Washington 4-5 0-0 10, Withers 1-2 1-1 3, Wojcik 0-1 0-0 0, High 0-1 0-0 0, Okonkwo 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-71 9-15 84.
Halftime: North Carolina 41-25. 3-Point Goals: Notre Dame 5-19 (T. Davis 1-1, Kelly 1-1, Konieczny 1-1, Booth 1-4, Shrewsberry 1-5, Braiton 0-1, Imes 0-1, Zona 0-2, Burton 0-3), North Carolina 11-29 (R. Davis 4-6, Bacot 2-2, Washington 2-2, Ryan 2-5, Ingram 1-8, High 0-1, Wojcik 0-1, Lebo 0-2, Trimble 0-2). Rebounds: Notre Dame 34 (T. Davis, Zona 6), North Carolina 45 (Ingram 14). Assists: Notre Dame 8 (Burton 4), North Carolina 14 (R. Davis 6). Total Fouls: Notre Dame 17, North Carolina 16. A: 21,750 (21,750).