By R.L. Bynum
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — With Captain Jack directing the train, he needed some big-time passengers, and Elliot Cadeau was the man of the hour.
Cadeau’s four-point play with 4.8 seconds left gave North Carolina a badly needed 74–73 victory Saturday over Notre Dame at the Purcell Pavilion.
The Tar Heels (9–6, 2–1 ACC) escaped with a win in their first Quad 2 game of the season when Markus Burton missed a driving shot at the buzzer, with Cadeau defending Burton.
It was another monster game for Ian “Captain Jack” Jackson, who scored 17 of his season-high 27 points in the first half and became the first freshman in program history to score at least 23 points in four consecutive games.
“I told them after the game, I can point to everybody that made impact plays out there to help us win, whether it’s on the offensive end or defensively,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “And that’s what, ultimately, has to happen: you have to have guys step up. And Elliot stepped up late.”
Just like in New York against No. 15 UCLA two weeks earlier, Carolina made the big stop to win the game.
“After Elliot made his free throw, we were calling time out to set up our defense, and we were able to get a stop at the end,” said Coach Davis, who was going to call the timeout after the 3 before he realized that Cadeau was going to go to the line.
Cadeau scored six of his 10 points in the last 21½ seconds and was the only other Tar Heel to score in double figures. He was repeatedly subbing out for Jae’lyn Withers in the final minutes for defense and coming in on offense, the last time with 14 seconds left.
It was a big confidence booster for Cadeau, who missed a potential game-tying 3-point attempt at the buzzer at Kansas.
“I took that shot before at Kansas, and people are really saying a lot of things to me, saying a lot of bad things just because I missed,” Cadeau said of comments he saw, mostly on social media. “This will help my confidence.”
Having big-time shooters on the floor in RJ Davis and Jackson helped give Cadeau his big opportunity.
“They kind of knew RJ was trying to come get the ball for three,” said Cadeau, who wasn’t sure when he’d made a bigger shot. “I feel like everybody in the gym knew that. And they knew Ian wanted a good look because he’d been shooting the lights out. So, I feel like I was the only person with an open look. So, I got the ball.”
RJ Davis deferred to Jackson much of the game and took on more of a distributor role, scoring only eight points — the first time he hasn’t scored in double-figures this season — but dishing out a season-high seven assists against one turnover.
After watching lots of film with coaches and seeing how teams defended him, he adjusted against the Irish.
“Just made a couple of reads, and the game called for me today to get my teammates involved,” RJ Davis said. “The way they were playing was up on ball screens, off ball screens and in the gaps. [The coaches] told me to use my gravity because I’m pulling so many guys with me, and that way I’m able to get guys on the shots, making it tough on my game. I’m wired to score, but at the same time, I think it’s good for me, because now I’m able to kind of just showcase my distributing, my playmaking skills.”
One of Davis’ assists was a lob in transition for a Jackson dunk that gave UNC an 11-point lead four minutes into the second half.
“The guys got on me because they said my celebration was whack,” Davis said. “I did the little DWade, LeBron [lob pass] tonight,” Davis said. “I saw Ian run in transition, so I threw it up so he could dunk it.”
It’s been a work in progress to figure out how to deal with what defenses are throwing at RJ Davis now that there isn’t the inside threat of Armando Bacot. But it worked out on the day Davis passed Bacot to become the second-most prolific scorer in program history. Bacot scored 2,347 points and Davis now has 2,353.
“That’s how great a player RJ is,” Coach Davis said. “Everywhere he goes, they’re putting a bigger defender on him. They’re bodying him coming off screens. And if he’s coming off ball screens, they’re putting two on the ball. And he did a great job of getting the ball out of his hands and spraying it to people.”
Jackson became the first UNC freshman with four consecutive games of at least 20 points since Tyler Hansbrough in the 2005–06 season. The scoring keeps coming, but he made several good plays on defense, showing his progress on that end of the floor.
“He can get to his spots anytime he wants,” Coach Davis said. “Ball-handler [who can] score at three levels. He could score with contact. It’s just easy for him. And a lot of the times it’s coming off of just playing basketball. It’s not necessarily me calling secondary [for] Ian. He’s always been a gifted scorer. He’s getting better defensively, distributing the basketball, learning how to take care of it as well.”
Jackson says he’s unfazed with the scoring burden he suddenly has for the Tar Heels.
“I work really hard. And opportunity came, and it’s here now. I’m going to make the best of it and do what I know I can do,” Jackson said.
A big issue in recent games for Cadeau has been turnovers, but he had six assists against one turnover as he and Davis combined for a 13-to-2 assist-to-turnover ratio.
“That’s been the focus for me,” Cadeau said. “That’s been really my only focus. Having a better assist-to-turnover ratio. I feel like I’ve been really high on turnovers, and that’s not normal. So, coming out in games like this, that’s really my goal, to have zero turnovers.
Notre Dame (7–7, 1–2) got its first half-court offense field goal on its sixth possession, a Tae Davis drive at 16:55, and Jackson followed 10 seconds later with UNC’s first bucket to tie it at 4, and a Drake Powell dunk gave UNC its first lead.
Five Tar Heels scored during an 18–5 run to give UNC a 12-point lead with 8:42 left in the first half. Jackson scored 10 during that run with two transition layups, a 3-pointer and a driving three-point play.
The Irish cut the lead to five with six straight points, but a pair of Cade Tyson free throws with seven seconds left gave UNC a 39–32 halftime lead. It was only the second lead in nine games against a power conference opponent (the Heels led Georgia Tech 31–30 at halftime).
Notre Dame got back into the game by dominating the boards and with the help of Burton, Notre Dame’s All-ACC guard from a year ago, who was playing for the first time since suffering a knee injury in November.
Burton led the Irish with 23 points and had 10 points on a 12–0 run to give Notre Dame a 48–47 lead with 13:09 left as UNC’s defense struggled for a stretch.
A Tae Davis layup pushed the Irish lead to four with 6:27 left, but Powell tied it with a corner 3-pointer with 4:59 left. UNC tied it again at 3:22 on a coast-to-coast Jackson drive and took a one-point lead on RJ Davis’s drive a minute later.
The Irish went up by three with 3:15 left on a Tae Davis jumper and Burton’s inside bucket. After a timeout, Jalen Washington turned the ball over, but the Irish turned it over at the other end. Cadeau cut it to 71–70 on a drive with 21.5 seconds left.
Matt Allocco made two free throws with 14.5 seconds left to put the Irish up three. But Cadeau gave UNC the lead for good with his four-point play after Allocco fouled him while scoring a 3-pointer.
NOTES — UNC plays its first home game in nine days on Tuesday, a Quad 1 game, as SMU visits the Smith Center for the first time as an ACC team. It will be the fourth all-time meeting and the first since a 90–74 UNC win in the Smith Center on Dec. 12, 1987. The Mustangs (11–3, 2–1) lost at home Satuday to No. 4 Duke 89–62. … Saturday’s game was Notre Dame’s first sellout for a men’s game this season. … Seth Trimble missed his third consecutive game with an upper-body injury. … UNC is 31–9 all-time against Notre Dame and 7–4 in South Bend, with four straight victories and 13 in the last 15 meetings. … It was UNC’s first one-point win since beating Notre Dame at home 66–65 on Jan. 2, 2021. … It was the first time UNC has won a game with a free throw in the final 10 seconds since Joel Berry II did against the Irish on Jan. 13, 2018. … Cadeau’s game-winning four-point play was the 17th lead change, the most in any UNC game this season. The previous high was 10 lead changes in the win over Dayton. … It was UNC’s first four-point play since since Kerwin Walton vs. Northeastern on Feb. 17, 2021. … Jackson is the first freshman to lead UNC in scoring four consecutive games since Cole Anthony in the 2019–20 season. … Jackson’s 11 field goals were the most by a Tar Heel this season and the most by a UNC freshman since Cole Anthony made 12 vs. Notre Dame on Nov. 6, 2019. … Washington blocked a career-high five shots.
UNC 74, Notre Dame 73
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 3 Duke | 0–0 | 11–0 | 2 |
| California | 0–0 | 10–1 | 63 |
| No. 12 North Carolina | 0–0 | 10–1 | 15 |
| No. 23 Virginia | 0–0 | 9–1 | 21 |
| Miami | 0–0 | 10–2 | 33 |
| Virginia Tech | 0–0 | 10–2 | 58 |
| No. 11 Louisville | 0–0 | 9–2 | 17 |
| SMU | 0–0 | 9–2 | 43 |
| Stanford | 0–0 | 8–2 | 98 |
| Clemson | 0–0 | 9–3 | 32 |
| Notre Dame | 0–0 | 9–3 | 65 |
| Wake Forest | 0–0 | 9–3 | 59 |
| N.C. State | 0–0 | 8–4 | 34 |
| Georgia Tech | 0–0 | 7–4 | 189 |
| Syracuse | 0–0 | 7–4 | 96 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–0 | 6–6 | 154 |
| Boston College | 0–0 | 5–6 | 177 |
| Florida State | 0–0 | 5–6 | 148 |
* — Through Wednesday games
Tuesday’s results
No. 12 North Carolina 77, East Tennessee State 58
No. 3 Duke 97, Lipscomb 73
No. 20 Tennessee 83, No. 11 Louisville 62
Dayton 97, Florida State 69
Clemson 68, South Carolina 61
Miami 98, Florida International 81
Georgia Tech 87, Marist 76
Wednesday’s results
N.C. State 108, Texas Southern 72
Pittsburgh 103, Binghamton 6
Syracuse 76, Mercyhurst 62
Wake Forest 71, Longwood 68
UT Arlington at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Friday’s games
Mississippi Valley State at Florida State, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Morgan State at California, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Saturday’s games
Montana at No. 11 Louisville, noon, ACCN Extra
Lafayette at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Elon at Virginia Tech, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Ohio State vs. No. 12 North Carolina at CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta, 3 p.m., CBS
Northeastern at Syracuse, 4 p.m., ACCN Extra
Maryland at No. 23 Virginia, 6 p.m., ESPN
No. 3 Duke at No. 16 Texas Tech, 8 p.m., ESPN
Stanford at Colorado, 8 p.m., ESPNU
Sunday’s games
Penn State vs. Pittsburgh in Hershey, Pa., noon, Big Ten Network
Ole Miss vs. N.C. State in Greensboro, 1 p.m., ESPN
No. 13 Vanderbilt at Wake Forest, 1 p.m., The CW
Purdue Ft. Wayne at Notre Dame, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Central Arkansas at SMU, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Cincinnati vs. Clemson in Greenville, S.C., 3 p.m., ESPN
North Florida at Miami, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Columbia at California, 5 p.m., ACCN Extra
Monday’s games
American at Virginia, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Jacksonville at Florida State, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Stonehill at Syracuse, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Fairleigh Dickinson at Boston College, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
East Carolina at No. 12 North Carolina, 8 p.m., ACC Network
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 10 BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 17 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 9 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. East Tennessee State | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | 3 p.m. | vs. Ohio State | CBS |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | 8 p.m. | vs. East Carolina | ACCN |
| 30 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Florida State | ESPN2 |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | 2:15 | at SMU | The CW |
| 10 | Saturday | 6 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 14 | Wednesday | 9 p.m. | at Stanford | ACCN |
| 17 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at California | ACCN |
| 21 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Notre Dame | ESPN2 |
| 24 | Saturday | 2 or 2:30 | at No. 23 Virginia | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 31 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 3 Duke | ESPN |
| 10 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 14 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 11 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 3 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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