Irish Topple No. 1 Tar Heels
Let’s rewind to February 1, 1987—one of those unforgettable nights when Notre Dame basketball delivered a classic under the bright lights. The Irish stunned top-ranked North Carolina, 60-58, marking the seventh time under legendary head coach Digger Phelps that Notre Dame took down a No. 1 team. Even more impressive? The Irish clawed back from a 32-16 deficit to pull off the upset. Fueled by the electric play of guard David Rivers and the steady presence of forward Donald Royal, Notre Dame seized momentum that would carry them all the way to the Sweet 16. This wasn’t just a win—it was a defining moment in Irish hoops history.
The below article is from the February 2, 1987 issue of The Observer newspaper written by Dennis Corrigan.
Irish Topple No. 1 Tar Heels
Rivers, Voce key 60-58 comeback
By Dennis Corrigan, Sports Editor
Plain and simple, Notre Dame’s 60-58 victory over number-one North Carolina Sunday was a Notre Dame Moment. It was one of those games that goes from the sports pages to the history books.
The Irish, down as many as 16 in the first half, fought and scrapped their way to victory. David Rivers’ jumper from inside the foul line put the Irish ahead to stay with 1 :06 left to play, and then the Irish hung on despite the Tar Heels and their own fans.
“We didn’t crack when it was time for us to crack, and that’s a sign of maturity,” said Notre Dame head coach Digger Phelps, whose squad’s record rose to 12-5. “We’ve lost four games – to Indiana, DePaul, West Virginia and UCLA- all in the last minute. But I told the kids, ‘You can play with anybody,’ and today was an opportunity for us to go for our moment. That’s just something we’re very good at here at Notre Dame – knocking off top ranked teams. I knew if we stayed with it we were going to get it done, even with the technical at the end.
“We really wanted to win this game. Carolina’s a great team, and (North Carolina head coach) Dean Smith’s a great coach. They’ll be in the Final Four. We just did some things at the end and got away with it. That’s what worked for us today, and we made the key foul shots at the end.”
It was a day the Irish were not to be denied. Four free throws by Rivers and Gary Voce at the end sealed the win. Both played the final nine minutes of the game with four fouls. Phelps wasn’t about to take out his established and rising stars.
Instead, he switched to a 1-3-1 zone, and the Irish got back in it.
“They went to a zone, and we had some open shots,” said Smith. “We just didn’t make them. They wouldn’t have gone to a zone if it weren’t for foul trouble. It worked.”
Rivers, who was scoreless in the opening half but finished with 14 points, penetrated to hit three jumpers down the stretch with Carolina’s Ranzino Smith in his face, and Voce hit four from the line and grabbed a key rebound at the end to seal Notre Dame’s upset.
“I got into a rhythm,” said Rivers, whose father travelled from New Jersey to see his son play at Notre Dame for the first time. “When I get into a rhythm – where I’m controlling the tempo – whether I have a hand in my face or not I tend to shoot well. I just got into a good grove.
“There wasn’t a particular moment when I felt I could score. It was just the offense we were in. I have the option to go one-on-one. When I felt Ranzino was giving me enough room, I took the shot.”
Even at the end, it looked as if Notre Dame’s own fans would take the game away from the Irish. Cardboard signs were thrown to the floor after Voce grabbed a rebound and was fouled after a forced shot by the Tar Heel’s J.R. Reid. The crowd went wild, and referee Gerry Donaghy whistled Notre Dame for a technical foul. Voce, who hit on five-of-six free throws and scored a game-high 15 points, calmly stuck both ends of the one-and-one for the win.
“I missed converting on a three-point play before, and Coach Phelps sat me down and told me what I was doing wrong,” said Voce. “So I felt pretty good when I went up there at the end. I just thought to myself, ‘I’m going to hit this one.”’
Jeff Lebo hit the technical shot and a jumper at the buzzer for the final score.
Joe Wolf scored 14 to lead the Tar Heels, who lost their their second game against 18 wins.
But in the first half, the game looked as if it would be all North Carolina, which played solidly without injured point guard Kenny Smith. Smith underwent arthroscopic surgery Saturday morning to remove loose cartilage from his left knee.
Yet with Wolf hitting short jumpers and Lebo and Smith gunning from three-point range, the Tar Heels took control for much of the opening half.
The Irish stayed with the deliberate tempo to slow down the potent Tar Heels, who entered the game averaging 94.7 points per contest. The Irish chipped away and went on a seven-point spurt at the end of the half to cut a 16-point lead to nine at the half.
“I said at halftime that that we’ve got to start going to hole, penetrate, draw the fouls or look to pass. We only had one foul shot in the first half, and that told me we had to go inside. We felt at halftime that Rivers could go for more one-on-one, and we let him do that.”
When the Irish went inside, they looked to Voce, who has found a baseline jumper to make him a scoring threat along with Donald Royal inside.
“I didn’t think (Voce) would be that good a shooter,” said Coach Smith. “He didn’t play quite that well, at least as an offensive threat, on the tapes I watched.
“This was a learning experience for us. I thought we responded well, particularly in light of Kenny not being here. We played with poise, but we didn’t play the last minute the way I’d like to have seen them play. We can learn from that.”
As for Phelps, he didn’t care that Smith wasn’t in the backcourt for Carolina today.
“One thing we didn’t do in practice yesterday was worry about Kenny Smith not playing,” said Phelps. “I told the team that when you lose a key player it helps you. It works against the team you’re playing because your kids do things better. My kids wouldn’t let me read the papers this morning because they didn’t want me to think about Smith not being in the line up.”
While Phelps and Rivers both said that they’d celebrate the win and get on with the season, this is one win they won’t forget for quite some time.
More than just another notch in Digger Phelps’ belt of upsets, the win over North Carolina on February 1, 1987, became a symbol of resilience, belief, and the magic that can happen inside the Joyce Center. It was a “Notre Dame Moment” in every sense—a comeback for the ages, fueled by grit, strategy, and clutch performances from players like David Rivers and Gary Voce. While the Irish would go on to reach the Sweet 16 that season, this victory stood out as a defining high point, one that reminded the college basketball world never to count out Notre Dame—especially when the lights are bright and the stakes are high.
Cheers & GO IRISH!