North Carolina is right back on the court Monday night with a road game at Notre Dame, which is fighting to push toward getting into the NCAA Tournament.

The Tar Heels have lost five consecutive games and are coming off another buzzer-beating loss Saturday night to Virginia. The Irish have dropped consecutive games, including by 34 points at Duke over the weekend, after winning four straight.

UNC is 10-15 overall and 3-11 in the ACC while Notre Dame is 15-10 ad 6-8.

Here are our picks:

Notre Dame is playing much better since the Tar Heels beat the Irish in Chapel Hill the first week of the season. Christian Keeling has really come on of late, but since Cole’s return Garrison Brooks’ productivity has fallen off - some of it due to nagging injuries and poor free throw shooting. When they put it all together, they can compete with anyone. Problem is, they rarely put it all together. Prediction: Notre Dame 72, UNC 65.

The way this year has gone, UNC’s season-opening win over Notre Dame on Nov. 6 seems like it happened a lifetime ago. The Tar Heels travel to South Bend having won just one road game in the ACC so far, meaning coming home with a victory against the Fighting Irish is a tall task for this team. Can they? Yes. Will they? I don’t think so. Prediction: Notre Dame 70, UNC 64

The many issues of this season have repeated themselves so much and in so many ways that it is hard to say what to expect at Notre Dame. This is another game that Carolina can win but it will require the players to figure out a way to not give the game away. At this point all Carolina can do is continue to fight and maybe they will finally be rewarded for their perseverance. Prediction: Notre Dame 72, UNC 69.

I feel like I’m becoming repetitive here, but once again North Carolina is on a short week coming off a tough loss, I have no idea what the team has left in the tank. Coming back up after a game in which they had a chance to win against they will travel to face a hungry Notre Dame team, who is coming off a brutal performance against Duke, the Irish will be smelling blood. Prediction: Notre Dame 75, UNC 65.

The Tar Heels continue to fight even though they are sporting a 5-game losing streak. It’s going to be hard to win in South Bend against a pesky Irish squad. It seems repetitive but the Tar Heels just need to play smarter basketball and hit shots. Prediction: Notre Dame 76, UNC 68.

Cutting the cord is something this team has had to do many times this season, but that hasn’t always happened. If the Heels fully move on from the disappointing loss to Virginia, they will have a chance at getting a victory in South Bend, otherwise they have no chance. The gut here says the Heels will be ready but will find a way to lose yet again. Prediction: Notre Dame 74, UNC 68.

Average THI prediction: Notre Dame 73.2, UNC 66.5.