CHAPEL HILL, N.C. _ The emotion was raw and real.
When Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw was asked after a January loss how difficult it was to not have an answer for her team's woes this season, she broke down in tears.
"I've got to do better," she said, her voice cracking. "I feel like I can fix it, but I didn't."
In a phone interview with the News & Observer on Wednesday, McGraw said it's a hopeless feeling to try so hard and not have an answer.
A video from that January moment went viral. And another coach, who perhaps was dealing with those same emotions 700 miles away, saw it.
"I saw it, and it just hurt my heart," UNC coach Roy Williams said in a press conference Monday.
So he called her.
Williams said he's done that with a few other coaches as well.
"It's just that, you see something and you know how bad they're hurting and getting a phone call might be something that makes them feel better for 30 seconds," Williams told the N&O on Friday. "And Muff is great. I've known her a long time and seen the job she's done from a distance. It's more of a respect thing, too."
McGraw and Williams met around 2013 when Notre Dame joined the ACC, McGraw said. They've become friends and have maintained a relationship since then.
But McGraw said she was surprised to see Williams calling.
"I wouldn't think to do that _ I would be so wrapped in a season, I wouldn't think to call," McGraw said. "For him to take the time to reach out to me, that really made it special."
Both UNC men's basketball and Notre Dame women's basketball are among the most well-known programs in their respective leagues. Both are led by Hall of Fame coaches. Both have won national championships.
McGraw, who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017, has 923 career wins in 37 seasons as a head coach (32 at Notre Dame, five at Lehigh).
She has two NCAA titles, winning in 2001 and 2018. Her teams have also been the NCAA Tournament runner-up five times, the most recent in 2019.
But like UNC this season, Notre Dame women's basketball has struggled. The Fighting Irish are 10-17.
UNC men's basketball was 10-16 heading into a matchup with Louisville (22-5, 13-3) on Saturday. Unless they win the ACC tournament, neither will earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
So when Williams called, it was for support. The call lasted 20 to 30 minutes.
McGraw said after that January loss to N.C. State, she felt alone and as if she was the only one going through it. But when Williams called, she knew she wasn't.
"It was just good to know that someone of his stature, who has had so much success, has also had a bad year," McGraw said. "We're having only one bad year. We're going to be fine."
When UNC traveled to Notre Dame on Monday, McGraw and Williams took a photo together. McGraw posted it to her Twitter account.
"SUPPORT GROUP MEETING of former champions on handling the adversity of this season," her captions reads. "Yo ?@SteveKerr ... we are holding a spot for you."
Kerr jokingly responded with a gif of a person rolling off a cliff, and the caption, "I'm fine Muffet. What are you talking about?"
Williams said he's been lucky to have great friends in college basketball, who he can talk to when things are tough.
"Mike Brey is a superstar," Williams said. "Lon Kruger, Tubby Smith, Tom Izzo, Mark Few. I can go on and on, guys that I just love. And Muff is a proven winner. She's a national championship coach."
"I decided I wanted to call her. She's fantastic."
