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Game 23 Preview: Irish Look for Two in a Row on Saturday

Irish vs Demon Deacons | Saturday, Feb. 4 | 1 p.m. ET | Purcell Pavilion | RSN

ACC Tournament:#12 NOTRE DAME (12-19, 7-13)
ACC TOURNAMENT CENTRAL:CLICK HERE
WHERE:WASHINGTON D.C. | CAPITAL ONE ARENA
TICKETS:PURCHASE ONLINE
LISTEN:NOTRE DAME RADIO NETWORK | CLICK HERE
SOCIAL:@NDMBB | #GOIRISH
1ST ROUND:#13 GEORGIA TECH | TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2 PM ET | ACCN
2ND ROUND:#5 WAKE FOREST | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2:30 PM ET | ESPN
QUARTERFINALS:#4 PITT | THURSDAY, MARCH 14 , 2:30 PM ET | ESPN/2
SEMIFINALS:#1 NORTH CAROLINA/TBD | FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 7 PM ET | ESPN/2
FINALS:TBD | SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 8:30 PM ET | ESPN

Notre Dame Notes |

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s basketball team will try to build off last week’s Louisville win and some much-needed rest on the bye week, and make it two wins in a row when Wake Forest rolls into town. The Irish and Demon Deacons square off on Saturday, Feb. 4, with a 1 p.m ET tipoff time inside Purcell Pavilion. The game will be broadcasted on RSN – a full list of channels can be found in the table above.

ND vs WAKE

Notre Dame leads the all-time series versus Wake 8-6, as Saturday will mark the 15th meeting between the two. The Irish also own a strong 5-1 mark against the Demon Deacons at home. 

Last season, the Irish fell at Wake, 79-74. The game featured 12 lead changes and four ties. In terms of returning/current players who made an impact in that game – Cormac Ryan produced 12 points while Nate Laszewski added 11. The Irish shot better, 47.1 percent to their 41.4. However, Wake dominated the boards 43-27. 

THREAT FROM THREE

Notre Dame’s offense may fluctuate from time to time but you can’t argue with the team’s three-point shooting ability. The Irish rank 1st in the ACC in made three-pointers per game and 2nd in three-point shooting percentage. They are averaging 9.3 threes per game, which would rank 4th all-time in program history – the program record is 9.7 set by the 19-20 squad. That number also ranks 22nd in the country.

They are converting 37.4 percent from beyond the arc, which checks in 43rd nationally.

Since Nov. 30 (16 games), Notre Dame has knocked down 158 three-pointers (9.9 per game) which leads all Power-Five schools since that date and ranks ninth overall. 

Most recently, the Irish have connected on double-digit three-pointers in three of the last five games. 

23 IN ‘23

Goodwin has found his offensive rhythm and is Notre Dame’s best player right now with 10 straight games in double figures. He’s amassed 131 points in the last 10 games, averaging 13.1 ppg. He is 54-of-117 (.462) from the field in that stretch.

In 2023 (8 games), Goodwin is averaging 13.1 ppg. Plus, he’s also been more active on the glass in 2023 grabbing 55 boards over the last 8 games aka 6.9 rpg. 

He had a season high 6 assists to go with his 15 points at Syracuse on Jan. 14. A game prior vs Georgia Tech, he produced a team high 19 points and a career best 12 rebounds. Goodwin connected on a big three in the overtime period to help seal the win.  

“THAT WAS MARCUS HAMMOND”

Marcus Hammond is starting to get in a groove as of late and be that guy that Coach Brey thought he could be for the Irish. 

Three double-digit scoring performances in the last 5 games. He led the team in scoring in two of them (Syracuse + BC, Jan. 14-17) –> had back-to-back games with a season high in made threes (4+5). Hammond is averaging 12.6 ppg over said 5-game span. 

Hammond recently produced his first double-double of the season, and 5th of his career, with 11 points and 10 rebounds at NC State. 

JJ STEPS UP

Freshman JJ Starling showed up and showed out with a game high 22 points, helping lift the Irish to the 76-62 victory over Louisville. 

Starling had 16 points at the half and ultimately finished one shy of his season high of 23. The New York native was 9-of-16 from the field and grabbed six boards as well. 

And how about this – last 2 games – 40 points / 16-of-30 shooting / 13 rebounds.

ALSO TRENDING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Cormac Ryan has produced 3 straight games in double figures, amassing 43 points in that span. Most recently, he recorded a career high of 8 assists to go with his 11 points against Louisville. 

Ryan is averaging a career best 11.5 ppg. He’s also 7 three-pointers away from 200 in his career. 

— ND —