A Closer Look: Notre Dame

North Carolina has started the last two games on fire, as the Tar Heels built double-digit leads in the first few minutes against Maryland and N.C. State.

But that was in Chapel Hill.

Now, North Carolina is looking to bring that same momentum and fire power to South Bend, as they travel up to Notre Dame for the first time for an ACC game. The last time UNC played the Fighting Irish in South Bend for a regular season game was February 1, 1987, when Notre Dame defeated the then-No. 1 Tar Heels and ended a 16-game winning streak to start the season for Dean Smith's squad.

The Irish have struggled early in their first year of the ACC, coming in with an overall record of 12-11 and are 3-7 in ACC play.

The record doesn't show it, as Notre Dame has fought throughout this season with several close losses against better teams, such as Syracuse earlier this week (lost 61-55 at Syracuse).

They have also been able to defeat teams such as Duke at home, showing that it will be no easy for the Tar Heels coming into their backyard.

The loss of Jerian Grant, the leading scorer and assist leader on the team, has been a huge loss for the Fighting Irish this season.

But head coach Mike Brey will have his team ready to compete and looking to end the Tar Heels' four game winning streak in conference play.

Five of Notre Dame's 11 losses on the season have come by five or less points, while nine of them have been single digit losses.

So the talent is there for the Fighting Irish and this certainly will be a team that Roy Williams hopes to not have a letdown against before they face their arch-rival Duke next week.

Take a closer look at this weekend's matchup, as the Tar Heels travel up north. Tip off is set for 12:00 pm EST Saturday afternoon.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Record: 12-11

Streak: 1 Loss

Conference Record: 3-7

National Ranking: NR

RPI: 101

SOS: 34

Points per Game: 74.4

Rebounds per Game: 35.3

Assists per game: 15.7

Field Goal Percentage: 45.9 percent

Rebounding Leaders

Garrick Sherman: 8.0 rebounds

Pat Connaughton: 7.4 rebounds

Zach Auguste: 3.9 rebounds

Eric Atkins: 3.0 rebounds

Tom Knight: 2.8 rebounds

Assist Leaders

Jerian Grant: 6.2 assists

Eric Atkins: 4.8 assists

Pat Connaughton: 2.7 assists

Demetrius Jackson: 1.7 assists

Steve Vasturia: 1.0 assists

Field Goal Shooting Percentage Leaders

Garrick Sherman: 52.1 percent

Jerian Grant: 51.8 percent

Tom Knight: 50.8 percent

Patrick Crowley: 50 percent

Zach Auguste: 49.6 percent

3pt Shooting Percentage Leaders

Demetrius Jackson: 42.2 percent

Jerian Grant: 40.8 percent

Pat Connaughton: 38.1 percent

Eric Atkins: 36.1 percent

Steve Vasturia: 33.3 percent

Free Throw Percentage Leaders

Jerian Grant: 86.5 percent (64-74)

Pat Connaughton: 82.2 percent (37-45)

Demetrius Jackson: 78.2 percent (43-55)

Austin Burgett: 75.0 percent (12-16)

Garrick Sherman: 71.9 percent (64-89)