UNC basketball without three players in game at Notre Dame
North Carolina will be without three players from its rotation when it takes on Notre Dame at 9 p.m. Wednesday night in South Bend.
Forward Justin McKoy will miss his second game while sitting out due to COVID-19 protocol. Sophomore guard Kerwin Walton joined McKoy in protocol and starting forward Dawson Garcia will miss the game due to a concussion suffered in the win over Boston College on Sunday.
Garcia is the only one of the three who averages double figures scoring at 10.0 points and he also averages 5.5 rebounds. The absence of Garcia and Walton could dent the Heels’ 3-point shooting. Garcia is shooting 45 percent from behind the arc while Walton, who led the team in 3-pointers as a freshman, is at 35 percent.
Forward Brady Manek will likely start in Garcia’s place. Manek had 17 points off the bench against the Eagles playing extended minutes after Garcia was injured two minutes into the game.
This could be a chance for the Tar Heels to get more playing time for freshmen D’Marco Dunn and Dontrez Styles. The pair hasn’t played much this season, although they both logged a combined 19 minutes on Sunday.
Carolina is also expected to play more smaller lineups out of necessity, with Manek and Armando Bacot being the only two post players in the rotation.
This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 9:01 PM.