Upsets rained down on the ACC on Friday night as top-seeded Virginia and second-seeded Duke came tumbling out of the tournament with shock defeats to North Carolina and Notre Dame, respectively. The Tar Heels and the Fighting Irish will look to cap off their dream runs with a victory tonight in the finals as they lock horns in what is surely another mouth-watering encounter.
Read on below for a breakdown of this ACC championship game and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the Big Ten semifinal between Purdue and Wisconsin here.
[sc:MarchMadness ]Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. North Carolina Tar Heels Betting Preview
Where: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
When: Saturday, March 14, 8:30 PM ET
Line: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. North Carolina Tar Heels – view all NCAA Basketball lines
Betting on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame’s fairy tale run continued on Friday night as it stunned Duke, 74-64, in the semifinals of the ACC tournament. It was the Fighting Irish’s second consecutive win against the Blue Devils as they advanced to their first ever conference championship game.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Lying in wait for them in the finals are the North Carolina Tar Heels who recorded a stunning upset of their own in the semis against the Virginia Cavaliers. The Fighting Irish, however, won’t be fazed with their matchup with the Tar Heels one bit because of the excellent form that they are in right now.
The Fighting Irish shot the lights out against the Blue Devils, draining 50 percent (25 of 50) of their field goal attempts. Leading the way for Notre Dame was reserve Bonzie Colson who scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds. Providing support were Demetrius Jackson and Jerian Grant who chipped in 15 and 13 points respectively.
More than their offensive exploits, though, what really spelled the difference for Notre Dame in this game was their excellent execution on the defensive end. The Fighting Irish stuck to their game plan of staying close to the Blue Devils’ three-point shooters. Even though Jahlil Okafor wreaked havoc inside the paint with 28 huge points, Duke struggled to get its outside game going, shooting just 6-of-28 from the perimeter.
Defense also played a key part in their win against North Carolina earlier this year. The Tar Heels were held to just a single field goal (1 of 14) in the final seven minutes to propel Notre Dame to a precious one-point win back in January 5. They were particularly superb in their defense underneath the basket in that game, limiting North Carolina to just 30 paint points.
They will need to bring that same defensive intensity against a North Carolina side brimming with confidence on the offensive end. The Tar Heels are 18th in the nation in scoring this season, averaging 78.0 PPG.
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Betting on the North Carolina Tar Heels
There will be a new ACC champion this year.
The North Carolina Tar Heels ended the reign of the Virginia Cavaliers, recording a stunning 71-67 upset in the semifinals of the ACC tournament Friday night. It was the Tar Heels’ third consecutive win as they earned their fourth trip to the ACC finals in the last five years.
Much has been said about Virginia’s much-vaunted defense leading up to the game but it was North Carolina’s offense that really took center stage last night. The Tar Heels shot an incredible 55 percent from the field as they never trailed the entire game.
Freshman Justin Jackson played the game of his life, scoring a career-high 22 points on 80% shooting (8 of 10) from the field. Jackson has been a solid contributor for head coach Roy Williams this season, averaging 10.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game for the Tar Heels this campaign.
A key factor behind their victory as well was their dominance on the rebounding end. The Tar Heels controlled the boards against the Cavaliers, outrebounding them 32-25. It has been that way all season for the Tar Heels who are second in the nation in rebounding this season, averaging 41.7 boards per game.
For the Tar Heels to emerge victorious in the final against the Fighting Irish, they need to control the glass once again. In their only meeting with Notre Dame this season, the Tar Heels outrebounded the Fighting Irish, 43-26. Unfortunately that advantage went for naught as they struggled mightily to get their offense going in that game.
The Tar Heels shot just 37% from the field in that 71-70 loss to Notre Dame. The onus is on Marcus Paige to set the tone offensively for North Carolina tonight. Paige leads the team in scoring this season, averaging 13.6 points per game. He’s also the Tar Heels’ main facilitator, dishing out a team-best 4.6 APG. He had 14 points and five assists in the semifinal win against Virginia.
Writer’s Prediction
North Carolina edges past Notre Dame, 75-73, to capture its 18th ACC tournament title.
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