Strong defense helps North Carolina blow out Notre Dame, advance in ACC Tournament

Shane Connuck, The Charlotte Observer on Mar 12, 2025

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One of North Carolina men’s basketball’s best defensive performances came in the ACC Tournament.

The Tar Heels, whose biggest lead was 24 points in their 76-56 victory to reach the quarterfinals at 2:30 p.m. Thursday against Wake Forest, significantly limited its opponent’s strong offense.

The Tar Heels recorded their second-best defensive efficiency rating against an ACC opponent this season, according to Kenpom.com, holding Notre Dame to just 0.862 points per possession in their blowout win Wednesday afternoon at Spectrum Center in uptown Charlotte.

“We were very active on defense in the way we communicated,” Ven-Allen Lubin, who scored 17 points in the win Wednesday afternoon at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, said in the Tar Heels’ locker room. “Our talking and activity level has definitely increased, and has been very remarkable. Getting stops on defense just gets us going on the offensive end.”

UNC focuses on defense as it chases the NCAA Tournament

Notre Dame’s offense totaled just six assists against UNC.

The Tar Heels held Markus Burton, the ACC’s leading scorer with 21.3 points per game, to just 11 points on 3 of 11 shots Wednesday.

Slowing down its opponent early on was critical. UNC built a 20-point lead during the first half, and while the Irish used an 8-0 run and tried to fight back, the Tar Heels remained several steps ahead throughout the afternoon.

UNC looks to make an NCAA Tournament bid, and that potential path continues Thursday against the Demon Deacons.

A key for the Tar Heels? Another strong defensive performance, says fifth-year standout RJ Davis.

“We just want to set the tone,” Davis said. “When we pressure other teams, we’re really good defensively. It gets teams a little bit radical, so it’s just putting that together for a whole 40 minutes and using it to our advantage. I think we did a good job of doing that in the first half and second half, priding our mentality and tone on defense, that’s really allowing us to be great. Offense is gonna care of itself. From the start of the year, it’s really about defense.

“Notre Dame is a great team, it was a one-point game and we pulled off the game-winner earlier in the year. We really want to just shut down (Markus) Burton, because he’s a terrific player, he makes them go, him and (Tae) Davis. Just playing team defense. Defense wins championships. And I think we’re taking a step forward and understanding as a team, which early on, we didn’t really.”