Tar Heels Surge Past Notre Dame With Record Shooting Night

The North Carolina Tar Heels delivered a resounding statement on Wednesday night, putting an emphatic end to their two-game skid with a 91-69 victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Dean E. Smith Center. For a team that had just returned from a rocky road trip in California, this matchup offered a golden opportunity for redemption—and the Tar Heels seized it with both hands, thrilling the home crowd and reaffirming their place among the ACC’s toughest competitors.

From the opening tip, it was clear that North Carolina meant business. The Tar Heels wasted no time, racing out to an 8-2 lead thanks to a corner three-pointer from Jaydon Young, who was making his first start of the season. This early burst set the tone for a night in which UNC’s perimeter shooting and relentless energy would be on full display. By the time the first media timeout rolled around, the Tar Heels led by a slim margin, but it didn’t take long for them to stretch that advantage. Three-pointers from Derek Dixon, Jaydon Young, and Kyan Evans fueled an 18-10 lead just ten minutes into the contest, and the momentum only built from there.

Notre Dame, desperate to snap a four-game losing streak of their own, battled back with some hot shooting of their own. Early on, the Fighting Irish connected on 60 percent of their three-point attempts, keeping the game close and capitalizing on some familiar Tar Heel defensive lapses. But UNC’s resolve held firm. As junior forward Jarin Stevenson put it after the game, "I think we were just really mad that we lost those two games. That was a big part of the fuel for this game. We know that we've got to be a lot better, we are a lot better."

That sense of urgency showed on both ends of the floor. UNC’s defense tightened up, particularly on the perimeter, holding Notre Dame to just 32 percent shooting from beyond the arc by game’s end—a marked improvement over recent outings. The Tar Heels also dominated the glass, grabbing 34 defensive rebounds to Notre Dame’s 21 and limiting the Irish to just 13 second-chance points despite surrendering 18 offensive rebounds. “I feel like we could’ve done better with that, though,” Stevenson admitted, “They got a lot of cheap ones… we can’t let up. That’s part of the problem. We can’t let up, let them get back in the game that way.”

UNC’s offensive attack was as balanced as it was explosive. The Tar Heels set new season highs with 13 made three-pointers on 34 attempts, with eight different players connecting from deep—a feat that tied a program record. Derek Dixon, starting for the second consecutive game, drilled three threes and finished with 11 points. Kyan Evans matched Dixon’s output from beyond the arc, while Jaydon Young, in his first start, chipped in a triple of his own. Head coach Hubert Davis explained his lineup decisions: “The only reason I went that way to start the game is I felt like that group [Dixon, Young, Seth Trimble, Wilson and Veesaar] played the best against Cal. That group played the closest, not where I wanted us to be, but the closest in terms of the effort, the energy, enthusiasm, the will and the want to that I require every time you get out on the floor.”

Caleb Wilson was the engine of UNC’s offense, leading all scorers with 22 points while adding seven rebounds and five assists. His ability to score in a variety of ways—whether through tough finishes inside or smooth jumpers—kept the Notre Dame defense on its heels all night. Henri Veesaar, meanwhile, was a force in the paint, posting a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double—his 10th of the season. Veesaar’s impact was especially pronounced in the second half, when he poured in 10 points in the opening minutes to help UNC break the game wide open. “If you keep shooting and take the right ones, you're going to get rewarded for that,” Veesaar said, reflecting on the team’s confidence from long range.

After holding a 42-33 lead at halftime, North Carolina came out of the locker room with renewed aggression. The Tar Heels rattled off eight straight points to start the second half, forcing a Notre Dame timeout and sending a jolt through the Smith Center crowd. By the under-12 media timeout, UNC had extended its lead to 70-45, effectively putting the game out of reach. Wilson and Veesaar combined for a flurry of buckets, while Stevenson and Evans each added timely threes to keep the scoreboard ticking over. The Tar Heels’ 22-point margin of victory was their largest against a power conference opponent this season, a testament to their dominance on both ends of the court.

Notre Dame, for its part, struggled to find consistent offense after the opening stretch. The Irish were held to just 20 percent shooting from the field early in the first half and never managed to regain their rhythm. Despite grabbing nearly as many offensive rebounds as defensive ones, they failed to convert those extra possessions into meaningful points. The Fighting Irish’s lone bright spots came from their early three-point shooting and their hustle on the boards, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Tar Heels’ firepower.

With the win, North Carolina improved to 15-4 overall and 3-3 in ACC play, while also extending their home winning streak against Notre Dame to seven games. The Tar Heels remain undefeated at home this season, much to the delight of the Chapel Hill faithful. Head coach Hubert Davis, reflecting on his team’s progress, said, “This is the first ride with this group. And we have 11 new players. And so we're going through this for the first time and we're learning, we're growing, we're getting better.”

Looking ahead, the Tar Heels face another significant test as they travel to Charlottesville to take on No. 14 Virginia on Saturday, January 24, at 2 p.m. With winter weather looming in the Southeast, there’s some uncertainty about the game’s timing, but one thing is clear: North Carolina has found its stride again. If Wednesday night’s performance is any indication, the Tar Heels are poised to make plenty more noise as ACC play heats up.

After a turbulent stretch, UNC’s convincing win over Notre Dame has the team and its fans looking forward with renewed optimism—a much-needed boost as the heart of conference season approaches.