SOUTH BEND, IN – Three days after playing its best basketball of the season, North Carolina reverted at times to a form Wednesday night it showed in losses earlier this season in Connecticut and in Las Vegas.

For its struggles, the Tar Heels fell, 78-73, in Joyce Center at Notre Dame.

That was a sometimes-listless Tar Heels team, and one that was highly challenged defensively. That is where UNC ultimately lost this game, as it allowed Notre Dame to shoot 47.5 percent from the floor, including 41.9 percent from three-point range, sinking 13 of 31 attempts.

That was the difference in the game, and why Carolina came up short in its late push.