North Carolina @ Notre Dame preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 5, 2017 ) Notre Dame 76, North Carolina 83

No. 18 North Carolina responded with a strong performance after two straight losses and next tries to win for the first time on the road in ACC play when it visits injury-plagued No. 25 Notre Dame on Saturday night. The Tar Heels lost at Florida State and Virginia with subpar efforts after winning their league opener, but showed signs of life as they pounded Boston College 96-66 on Tuesday.

“You watch the tape (of the two losses) and we didn’t have a high energy level then,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams told reporters. “Like I said the focus is we’ve got to play harder and we’ve got to play smarter.” The Tar Heels hope to take advantage of a Notre Dame team without its top two scorers as inside force Bonzie Colson (21.4 points) is recovering from foot surgery while sharp-shooting guard Matt Farrell (15.9 points, 5.1 assists) has missed the last two contests with an ankle injury and is doubtful for Saturday. “You can’t replace a Bonzie Colson and a Matt Farrell, especially what they do for this team,” Fighting Irish sophomore forward John Mooney told reporters. “It’s tough to lose them. But we’ve got guys who are stepping up.” Notre Dame shot 35.6 percent from the field and dropped a 60-53 decision at Georgia Tech on Wednesday after winning five straight contests.

TV: 6 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA (13-4, 2-2 ACC): Williams decided to go with a small lineup to start both halves against Boston College, after the two straight losses to change things up, and it turned out to be a move that sparked the team. Junior forward Luke Maye rebounded from averaging 11.5 points over a four-game stretch by scoring 32 while hauling in 18 rebounds in the win against the Eagles to push is team-leading averages to 18.2 and 10.8, respectively. Joel Berry II is second on the team in scoring (17.6) and fellow senior guard Cameron Johnson notched his first double-double with the Tar Heels versus BC.

ABOUT NOTRE DAME (13-4, 3-1): Senior forward Martinas Geben stepped up with a career-high 16 points against Georgia Tech and has averaged 12 rebounds over the last three contests while connecting 62.8 percent from the field overall. Sophomore guard T.J. Gibbs is the leading active scorer (14.6) and has drained 43.5 percent from 3-point range after matching his career high with seven assists last time out. Freshman guard D.J. Harvey (5.8 points) made just 3-of-20 from the field in the last two games and Mooney registered career highs of 11 points and eight rebounds against Georgia Tech.

TIP-INS

1. Notre Dame junior G Rex Pflueger averaged 13.8 points over a five-game stretch before being shut out on 0-for-8 shooting versus Georgia Tech.

2. Berry needs six 3-pointers to tie Donald Williams and Rashad McCants (221) for fourth on North Carolina’s all-time list.

3. North Carolina has won 21 of the 28 meetings with the Irish, including the past three after last season’s 83-76 triumph.

PREDICTION: North Carolina 80, Notre Dame 66