| 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 |
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – After back-to-back games came down to the wire last week in tough road environments, the Irish look to finally push through when North Carolina rolls into Purcell Pavilion. The Fighting Irish (10-17, 2-14) and Tar Heels (16-11, 8-8) will tip at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
ND VS UNC
Notre Dame is 9-27 against North Carolina and 5-12 in the Brey Era. The Irish have definitely found more success at home where they are 4-5.
In fact, the Irish boast a two-game win streak against the Tar Heels inside Purcell Pavilion. They met once last year in the Bend and ND took it 78-73.
Laszewski shot 7-for-11 in the game and six-for-seven from behind the three point arc to lead the Irish with 20 points. His back-to-back clutch three pointers with under three minutes proved to be the key shots in the victory. In addition, senior Dane Goodwin scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half.
The games in South Bend in this series have been particularly close as of late
Jan. 5, 2022 — W, 78-73 (5-point margin)
Feb. 17, 2020 — W, 77-76 (1)
Jan. 13, 2018 — L, 69-68 (1)
Feb. 6, 2016 — W, 80-76 (4)
Looking at the overall series (home/away/neutral), the story is much of the same. Excluding the ACC tournament shellacking in 2021, five of the last six contests have been close.
Jan. 5, 2022 — W, 78-73
Jan. 2, 2021 — L, 66-65
Feb. 17, 2020 — W, 77-76
Nov. 6, 2019 — L, 76-65
Jan. 15, 2019 — L, 75-69
THE DIFFERENCE A FEW POSSESSIONS CAN MAKE
How unlucky have the Irish been this season? Just in ACC play alone, they have lost nine games by single digits. Of those nine – seven have been five points or less. Plus, an incredible five has been decided by one possession. You look at the five teams in front of the Irish in the standings (Georgia Tech, FSU, VT, BC, UNC) – together they have a combined 9 losses by one possession.
If those seven that were decided by five points or less went a different direction, aka the difference of 2-3 possessions, the Irish could easily be sitting at 9-7 and in 7th place.
Taking a deeper look at five of ND’s last six losses – excluding the Wake Forest outlier – the Irish have lost by a combined margin of 17 points over 5 games, which equates to a 3.4 average margin of defeat.
UNLUCK OF THE IRISH
Coach Brey was happy how the guys competed this past week in two tough road ACC environments – battling Duke and No. 7 Virginia to the very end. In both games though it was Unluck of the Irish.
At Duke, the Irish Trailed by 10 in the 2nd half and rallied to make it a one-point game at 62-63 with 36 seconds left. The comeback was fueled by Dane Goodwin, who scored 17 straight points from 12:35-4:29. Goodwin finished with a season high 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting. ND thought they would have a chance for at least the tie at the end if it wasn’t for the heroics of Duke’s Mark Mitchell, who had one field goal at that point in the game. He then hit a corner three with 12.0 seconds left.
A few days later in Charlottesville, the Irish thought they had a miracle at the buzzer. Down two with three seconds on the clock, Trey Wertz was on the free-throw line with one to shoot. He then shot a ‘perfect miss’ as the ball found its way back to him. Wertz calmly dished to Dane Goodwin who was wide open for the game-winning three. It hit off the rim as ND fell at the buzzer 57-55.
NATE THRIVING IN PURCELL
Home sweet home is a phrase because you just tend to play better in the friendly confines of your own arena. And this certainly holds true for Laszewski as of late.
Check this stat out – Over the last 4 home games – 97 points (24.3 ppg), 27 rebounds, 32-of-52 FG, 18-of-31 3PT.
WHILE DANE IS THE ROAD WARRIOR
On the flip side of that is Dane Goodwin, who has found much success on the road down the stretch. He’s posted seven straight road games in double figures – averaging 14.7 ppg (103 points).
4 STARTS – 3 GAMES IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Freshman Ven-Allen Lubin has made 4 consecutive starts and has rewarded the Irish with 3 games in double figures. He scored a career high 13 points at Georgia Tech, then followed that up with 11 points vs Virginia Tech and 10 points at Duke.
One could argue that Lubin could have had even larger numbers against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech if it weren’t for limited minutes due to foul trouble in both.
THREAT FROM THREE
Notre Dame’s offense may struggle from time to time, but you can’t argue with the team’s three-point shooting ability. The Irish rank third in the ACC in made three-pointers per game and 35th in the country, converting 9.0 per game. They also rank 4th in three-point shooting percentage (.363). Their 9.0 threes per game would rank 6th all-time in program history – the program record is 9.7 set by the 19-20 squad.
FEBRUARY GROOVE
Goodwin has a pattern of excelling in February. Starting in 2021 (so over the last three seasons), Goodwin is averaging 12.8 ppg in the month of February. He scored 112 points over 8 games in 2021. Then 81 points in 7 games in 2022. And 62 points in 2023.
Looking just at this February – Laszewski is thriving. He’s averaging 18.0 ppg in the month of February – which ranks 8th best amongst ACC players.
— ND —