ACC Tournament Preview: Return to Greensboro

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The calendar has turned to March which means the regular season has concluded and it’s ACC Tournament time back in the Greensboro Coliseum. It’s the return of the blue and pink court, the flying shoe blimp and a grueling three games in three days scenario. The No. 3 seeded Notre Dame women’s basketball squad (21-7, 13-5) looks to make a statement this weekend against both conference foes and the NCAA Tournament committee. The road starts with either Georgia Tech or Wake Forest in the quarterfinals on Friday, March 4, at 8 p.m. ET on RSN. For a full list of channels to catch Friday’s game, click here.

ACC HISTORY – WRITING A NEW CHAPTER

The first six years in the ACC, the Irish were setting records. They went a combined 90-5 during the ACC slate with six straight regular-season titles. In the ACC Tournament, they claimed five crowns with a 17-1 record. The one loss – ironically enough during their 2017-18 national championship campaign. Then Notre Dame lost all five starters to the 2019 WNBA Draft and a year later, a hall of fame coach. Enter Niele Ivey and the rebuild back to the ND standard was on. 

Coach Ivey will look to set the course on recent ACC Tournament woes, as the Irish have suffered back-to-back opening-round losses. However, this is not the same Irish. The 2022 version claimed the No. 3 seed and received the coveted double-bye.

WHAT’S AT STAKE

1) A chance for a young roster to experience a deep run in one of the toughest-rated conferences in the nation. Only senior Abby Prohaska has experienced what it takes to make deep runs in March. Prohaska was the lone guard option off the bench during the team’s 2019 run to both an ACC Tournament title and NCAA Championship runner-up. Thus, this weekend will mark the ACC Tourney debuts for Dodson, Citron and Miles. 

2) The Louisville loss put a sour taste in the mouth of the NCAA Tournament committee, as the Irish dropped from a four-seed to a five-seed. Therefore, this weekend is critical for the Irish to collect a few more wins and prove to the committee that they are indeed a host-worthy team. 

IN THE NET + BRACKETOLOGY

In the final NCAA committee projection before Selection Sunday, ND went from the No. 14 spot to just outside the top-16 and on the wrong side of the hosting equation. 

As Charlie Creme wrote about the recent projections: “Indiana and Tennessee, which have combined to lose seven of their past nine games, remained on the (four-line). Oregon, Notre Dame and North Carolina didn’t make the cut, despite having better records in all the distinctive win categories (record vs. NET top 25, top 50, top 100) than the Hoosiers.”

With conference tournaments getting underway, a lot of eyeballs will be on Notre Dame, Indiana, Tennessee, Oregon, Iowa and Oklahoma in terms of battling it out for the four-seed line. 

In terms of the NET, ND checked in at No. 20 heading into ACC’s. Against the NET top-25, the Irish are 3-4. Against the top-50 they are 6-6 and against the top-100 they are 13-7. Therefore, no losses outside the NET top-100. 

COACH IVEY TURNAROUND IN YEAR 2

Just her second year with the program, but her first true full calendar year with the team, Coach Ivey already has the program back on the national scene in one of the biggest turnarounds. Around this time last year, Notre Dame finished 10-10 overall and didn’t make the NCAA tournament for the first time in a quarter of a century. Then Coach Ivey worked her magic. 

Notre Dame is currently 21-7 overall and ranked 20th in the nation after starting the year unranked (was ranked as high as 14th). They went 13-5 in the ACC and claimed the No. 3 seed, after being projected to finish in 6th place.

Coach Ivey boasts four ranked wins on the year which include No. 16 Georgia Tech on the road and No. 3 NC State at home. 

ACC ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Guard Sonia Citron claimed ACC Freshman of the Week 6 times and later won ACC Rookie of the Year. She becomes the program’s third ACC Rookie of the Year in 9 years in the league, joining Maddy Westbeld (2021) and Turner (2015). 

When it came to Freshman-Only ACC rankings — Citron ranked 2nd in scoring, 1st in rebounding and 3rd in assists – making her the only freshman in the top-3 in all three. In fact, Citron had the highest PTS+REB+AST/Game of any ACC freshman with her 20.8. Citron also boasted the most double-doubles of any ACC freshman with five – next highest was one.  

Lastly, Citron is 1-of-3 freshmen in the entire country averaging at least 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists and 1 steal. Thus, reiterating the fact she’s in rare freshman company.

WHO’S HOT?!

Maya Dodson has notched 13 double-digit scoring performances over the last 15 games. She’s raised her shooting percentage to .476, which ranks fourth in the league. In addition, she’s grabbed at least 9 rebounds in seven of the last nine games. 

Sonia Citron is coming on strong down the stretch – posting double figures in 12 of her last 13 games. She’s also recorded 2 double-doubles over the last 3. Defensively, she’s tallied back-to-back games with a season high of four steals. 

DODSON ALL-ACC DEFENSIVE TEAM

Dodson’s teammates might joke she’s the grandma of the team but the emphasis was on the first half of the word – Grand. She’s averaging 2.8 blocks/game, which ranks 8th in the nation and leads the ACC. She’s collected 16 blocks over the last four games. She’s also a difference maker on the glass, ranking 24th in the nation in offensive rebounds/game with 3.8. 

PUSHING PAST LATE-GAME STEREOTYPES

In a must-win game that had major ACC & NCAA Tournament ramifications, the Irish found way to secure an overtime win at No. 16 Georgia Tech. Despite the Yellow Jackets battling down nine to start the fourth, the Irish pushed forward in a hostile environment in a 72-66 victory, marking their first OT win since the 2018 Final Four.

Dara Mabrey played hero. She hit a shot clock buzzer-beater at 2:56 in the 4th then a big and-one at 1:23. She then scored 6 of her 11 points in OT. 

In addition, three Irish recorded double-doubles for the first time since Jessica Shepard (20p/13r), Brianna Turner (15p/15r), Marina Mabrey (12p/12a), vs UConn, 4/5/19 (Tampa). This time around it was Maya Dodson (11p/11r), Maddy Westbeld (10p/10r) and Sonia Citron (10p/11r).

MILES ATTRACTING EYEBALLS AND WATCH LISTS

Miles has played herself onto two prestigious watch lists. First it was the Nancy Lieberman Award top-10, recognizing the best 10 point guards this season. Shortly after, she was named to the Naismith Trophy Midseason Team, recognizing the top-25 players in the country, regardless of position. 

Notre Dame’s point guard ranks fourth in the NATION in assists per game as a FRESHMAN, averaging 7.0/game. However, Miles is more than just stylish assists and great vision, she’s a dynamic playmaker.

Miles leads the 20th ranked Irish in scoring (13.8), she’s 6th in the ACC in steals (1.9) and also reels in 5.6 boards/game.

Miles and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark are the only players in the country averaging at least 13 points / 5 rebounds / 7 assists. 

And by the way, she boasts seven double-doubles on the year, which ranks 5th in the ACC. And of those seven, one of them is a triple-double, as Miles became just the 2nd Irish freshman in program history to do so. 

SHOT OF CITRON IN THE 4TH

In terms of needed offensive surges in the fourth aka crunch time, look no further than Sonia Citron. The freshman has turned it on as of late as evidenced below:

Strong 4th quarters within the last month: 6 of her 21 vs Clemson // 8 of her 15 vs Miami // 6 of her 15 at FSU // 10 of her 13 vs Syracuse // 8 of her 12 vs Pitt.

FRESHMEN DUO SENSATION

Therefore, Notre Dame doesn’t just have one, but two super freshmen in Citron and Miles who will be the building blocks for years to come. 

ESPN Women’s Hoops put both Miles and Citron on their midseason top-10 freshman list. Miles was ranked No. 2, while Citron checked in at No. 6. Notre Dame was the only program with two freshmen on the list.  

In fact, Notre Dame is the only Power-Five school with two freshmen averaging double figures. Furthermore, there’s only one other school in Division I with 2 freshmen averaging at least 11 ppg – Pacific – Anaya James and Elizabeth Elliot. 

A 6-1 versatile guard, Citron does it all for Coach Ivey and is arguably the toughest player on the team. She’s averaging an impressive 11.7 points while ranking 2nd on the team in rebounds (6.8), 3rd in assists (2.3) and 2nd in steals (1.6). In fact her rebounding average ranks 9th in the ACC. 

Then there’s Olivia Miles, who has already been detailed above. Ultimately, Miles ranks in the top-15 in the ACC in 6 different stat categories: Scoring, FG%, Assists, Steals, A/TO Ratio and Defensive Rebounds. Best of any Irish player. 

ND’s 2 freshmen are its top two in Defensive-Rebounds/Game — Miles (5.0) & Citron (5.0) — as both rank in the ACC in the top-8. The two are also the team’s top two steal getters as Miles averages 1.9 while Citron checks in with 1.6.

— ND —