UNC basketball to play Notre Dame on Saturday

The Tar Heels and Irish were paired against one other after their original opponents became unavailable under coronavirus protocols

UNC's Leaky Black (1) and Notre Dame's Prentiss Hubb chase a loose ball during last year's game at Smith Center (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

North Carolina will play a home basketball game on Saturday after all.

Coach Roy Williams’ Tar Heels will take on Notre Dame at Smith Center in a matchup of teams whose original opponents were both unable to play because of coronavirus quarantines.

UNC was originally scheduled to host Syracuse at Smith Center, but that game was postponed last week when it was learned that a recent opponent of the Orange had several members test positive for COVID-19.

Notre Dame became available as a substitute opponent when its game at Pittsburgh was also put on hold because of quarantining and contact tracing among the Panthers’ roster.

The Tar Heels are 5-4 overall (0-2 ACC) after Wednesday’s loss at Georgia Tech. The Irish is 3-5 (0-2).