Notre Dame, the winner of the opening game of the ACC men’s basketball tourney at Spectrum Center, earned a date with the Tar Heels at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday after defeating Pitt.

Though it's easy to point towards UNC's stellar offense as the major reason it advanced to Thursday's rematch with Wake Forest, North Carolina's defense played a big role. The Tar Heels limited an opponent to under 60 points – for the second time in three games. Only one Notre Dame (15-18, 8-12) starter, Markus Burton, scored in double-figures.

The Tar Heels might need to win the conference tournament this year to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament and keep playing in March. A look at how UNC could do that.