Written by Andrew Carter at NewsObserver.com
North Carolina found itself looking for something it often has in recent years, something it has shown in flashes, here and there, but something that went missing, again, during an 80-76 defeat at Notre Dame on Saturday.
The No. 2 Tar Heels (19-4, 8-2 ACC) were looking for it often in the second half, while the Fighting Irish (16-7, 7-4) continued to chip away at a UNC lead that had once been 15 points strong. UNC was looking for it in the final moments, when it was clinging to hope that didn’t evaporate until the final seconds.
The Tar Heels looked for it when they failed to grasp a loose ball or secure a rebound or after a turnover. They looked for it when they couldn’t force turnovers. It was toughness, Brice Johnson, the senior forward, said afterward.
That’s what went missing, again. That’s what UNC was trying to find.
“We just didn’t play tough enough today,” Johnson said. “They out-toughed us.”
He said it on Saturday night while sitting in front of his locker inside a quiet and emptying Tar Heels’ locker room but he’d said similar things at times earlier this season and plenty of times last season and plenty of times the season before that. Toughness, or a lack of it, has been something Johnson, his teammates and coach Roy Williams have spoken plenty about the past few seasons.
And there Williams was again on Saturday, bringing up that familiar theme. Only Williams substituted “intensity” for “toughness.” Different word but same idea.
“Their coach did a heck of a lot better job of getting his guys to play with a great deal of intensity than I did,” Williams said, speaking of Notre Dame coach Mike Brey. “… I’ve got to do a heck of a lot better job of getting my club to play with a lot more intensity than we did.”
