Notre Dame Fighting Irish at North Carolina Tar Heels
· NCAA Men's Basketball
65 - 76
Freshman Anthony scores 34 points, No. 9 UNC beats Irish
Anthony set the school record for scoring by a freshman in his debut, finishing with 34 points and 11 rebounds while leading the ninth-ranked Tar Heels past Notre Dame 76-65 in their opener Wednesday night.
Anthony scored 15 points during a 29-13 second-half run that put the Tar Heels in control.
Prentiss Hubb scored a career-high 22 points, T.J. Gibbs added 19 and John Mooney finished with 10 for the Fighting Irish. They led 37-32 just under 2 minutes into the second half.
That's when Anthony took over. He started the run with a runner, reeled off seven straight points for his team and hit three 3s in a 4-minute span, the last of which gave the Tar Heels their first double-figure lead at 61-50 with 9 minutes remaining.
"Sometimes, I used to say, Tyler Hansbrough carried us," Williams said of about the former national player of the year. "Cole Anthony carried us tonight. ... That was pretty impressive, to say the least."
BIG PICTURE
"I thought his dagger 3s were a big part of it," coach Mike Brey said. "I love how we played. We came ready to battle, but he just got on one of those rolls that we've all seen on the AAU circuit. You guys just didn't see it yet. But you saw it tonight. So I thought that was really the difference."
THE EYES HAVE IT
RECORD BOOK
The record Anthony broke was previously held by McCants, who scored 28 points in the opener against Penn State in 2002.
ON THE OTHER HAND
CHAPEL THRILLS
The two best games of Hubb's career have come at the Smith Center. He set his previous high of 18 points in the Irish's loss here last January.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame: Hosts Robert Morris on Saturday.
North Carolina: Visits UNC Wilmington and former Tar Heels assistant C.B. McGrath on Friday night.
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How can I watch Notre Dame vs. North Carolina?
Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 65 - 76 |
| 2nd 0:19 | Foul on John Mooney. | 65 - 76 |
| 2nd 0:25 | Garrison Brooks Defensive Rebound. | 65 - 76 |
| 2nd 0:25 | Prentiss Hubb missed Layup. | 65 - 76 |
| 2nd 0:32 | North Carolina Turnover. | 65 - 76 |
Statistics
 ND |
 UNC |
|
|---|---|---|
| 24-68 | FG | 27-59 |
| 35 | Field Goal % | 46 |
| 9-31 | 3PT | 10-20 |
| 29 | Three Point % | 50 |
| 8-14 | FT | 10-17 |
| 57 | Free Throw % | 59 |
| 31 | Rebounds | 51 |
| 8 | Offensive Rebounds | 14 |
| 23 | Defensive Rebounds | 37 |
| 16 | Assists | 15 |
| 10 | Steals | 2 |
| 0 | Blocks | 4 |
| 6 | Turnovers | 18 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
| 6 | Total Turnovers | 18 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Points Off Turnovers | 0 |
| 0 | Fast Break Points | 0 |
| 0 | Points in Paint | 0 |
| 13 | Fouls | 15 |
| 5 | Largest Lead | 16 |
Game Information
Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Attendance: 21,750 | Capacity:
2025-26 Atlantic Coast Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | 17-1 | - | 35-3 |
| Virginia | 15-3 | 2 | 30-6 |
| Miami | 13-5 | 4 | 26-9 |
| North Carolina | 12-6 | 5 | 24-9 |
| Clemson | 12-6 | 5 | 24-11 |
| Louisville | 11-7 | 6 | 24-11 |
| NC State | 10-8 | 7 | 20-14 |
| Florida State | 10-8 | 7 | 18-15 |
| California | 9-9 | 8 | 22-12 |
| Stanford | 9-9 | 8 | 20-13 |
| Virginia Tech | 8-10 | 9 | 19-13 |
| SMU | 8-10 | 9 | 20-14 |
| Wake Forest | 7-11 | 10 | 18-17 |
| Syracuse | 6-12 | 11 | 15-17 |
| Pittsburgh | 5-13 | 12 | 13-20 |
| Notre Dame | 4-14 | 13 | 13-18 |
| Boston College | 4-14 | 13 | 11-20 |
| Georgia Tech | 2-16 | 15 | 11-20 |