March Madness 2016, Notre Dame vs North Carolina: Full highlights

North Carolina fought and then ran away from the Notre Dame to advance to the Final Four

Considering the familiarity between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish heading into their matchup in the Elite Eight of March Madness on Sunday from the Wells Fargo Center, fans should’ve expected a hard-fought close contest. Even if they didn’t, that’s exactly what the two ACC squads delivered on Easter Sunday.

The first half was largely a back-and-forth affair between the two teams. Though Brice Johnson was seemingly scoring at will in the first 20 minutes for North Carolina, the heady plays of Notre Dame point guard Demetrius Jackson and the shooting of V.J. Beachem kept the Irish close. In the end, North Carolina went into the locker room for halftime up by five points, but the game felt closer than even that.

Right out of the half, though, it seemed as if the Tar Heels might run away with it as they pushed the lead to 11 points. Notre Dame wasn’t rolling over and, after a run that culminated with Johnson “earning” North Carolina a technical foul, the Irish had erased the lead and were actually ahead by one. At that point, the momentum belonged to Notre Dame, but it was anyone’s game.

As North Carolina had done time and again in this tournament, though, the Tar Heels turned up the defensive pressure and rebuilt their double-digit lead over the Irish—including one of the wildest and prettiest fast breaks that you’ll ever see that was capped off by a Theo Pinson lob to Isaiah Hicks. Though Jackson and company tried, Notre Dame didn’t have another run in them. North Carolina held on to the lead after they recaptured it until the final buzzer to knock off Notre Dame for the second time this year and to advance to the Final Four.

Three Stars

Brice Johnson, North Carolina – 25 points, 12 rebounds, one block, one steal
Demetrius Jackson, Notre Dame – 26 points, four assists, two rebounds, one steal
Joel Berry, North Carolina – 11 points, eight assists

Highlights

"V.J. Beachem with AUTHORITY! #Elite8 https://t.co/cJ0mgQrju8— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 28, 2016"

"Isaiah Hicks THROW IT DOWN! #Elite8 https://t.co/nbL72o7GqZ— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 28, 2016"

Next Game

North Carolina will now move on to the Final Four in Houston to take on the Syracuse Orange for the right to play for a national championship.

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