Notre Dame And North Carolina Advance To Elite 8 At Wells Fargo Center
PHILADELPHIA, PA (CBS) — Notre Dame used tenacious defense and a lot of will power, whereas North Carolina used cruise control to both advance to the Elite 8 Friday night in the NCAA Tournament Eastern Regional semifinals at the Wells Fargo Center.
Notre Dame, the No. 6 seed, had a far greater time getting by feisty, tedious Wisconsin, the No. 7 seed, 61-56, thanks in part to a steal by Notre Dame's Demetrius Jackson with :15 left that led to his go-ahead basket for the Fighting Irish.
North Carolina, the No. 1 seed in the East, had a much easier time with No. 5 Indiana, pounding the Hoosiers, 101-86, setting the scene for Sunday's Eastern Regional final with Notre Dame at 8:49 p.m. ET at the Wells Fargo Center on CBS.
Notre Dame's victory was in question until the very end. The Irish didn't play well for three-quarters of the game. Notre Dame shot 7 of 29 (24.1%) in the first half, and trailed, 23-19. Wisconsin didn't fare that much better offensively, making 9 of 26 (34.6%). Notre Dame scored 10 points in the last :46 of the half. Prior to that, the Irish scored a grand total of 9.
But the Irish's shooting woes didn't concern Notre Dame coach Mike Brey.
"We were laughing, I said, gosh, we can't play any worse," Brey said. "Guys were kind of laughing, and I said we'll play better. I said we've always been great in second halves. Down the stretch from 12 min -- I said, fellas, they're going to feel us coming. We're coming. That's what we've done all year, not only in this tournament. We're going to get this to a game situation. Keep plugging.
"I thought Steve (Vasturia, out of St. Joe's Prep) and Demetrius did a great job of staying poised. They weren't making shots. They weren't in the greatest of rhythm, but they still defended and did tough stuff. Then all of a sudden they all had a big impact."
North Carolina had none of Notre Dame's troubles. The Tar Heels shot 62% in the first half (18-29) to lead, 52-41. The teams were tied once, 8-8, and then the Tar Heels went on a 23-9 run to take control of the game.
The finals set the stage for a Notre Dame team that rocked the nation last year by nearly upsetting Kentucky in the Elite 8 against a North Carolina team that plays with a 1970's fastbreak style, relying on its quickness and speed to create easy buckets.
Notre Dame was last in the Final Four in 1978. The last time North Carolina went to the Final Four was in 2009, when the Tar Heels won the National Championship, beating Villanova in the national semifinals to get there.
It will be an interesting clash of styles, but a tempo Notre Dame will need to slow down if the Irish will have any chance to win.
