Game Thread | No. 7 Florida State at Notre Dame
No. 7 Florida State (24-5, 14-4) at Notre Dame (18-11, 9-9)
Date: March 4
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion | Notre Dame, Ind.
TV: ESPN2 | Mike Couzens and Jordan Cornette
Quick Facts
- Notre Dame and Florida State will meet for the 11th time on Saturday.
- Florida State leads the all-time series 6-4 and won 85-84 on January 25th.
- Notre Dame is 3-0 against Florida State in Purcell Pavilion with the most recent victory coming in 2018.
- John Mooney is second in the nation and leads all major conference players in rebounds-per-game with a 12.8 average.
- Since 1997-98 John Mooney is the only ACC player with 13 or more double-doubles in league play in consecutive seasons (or over any two seasons).
- TJ Gibbs is shooting 48% from three-point range in conference play and it leads the ACC.
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Prentiss Hubb | 11.8 | 2.5 | 4.9 |
| TJ Gibbs | 13.2 | 2.2 | 3.2 |
| Rex Pflueger | 5.2 | 3.4 | 3.6 |
| John Mooney | 16.8 | 12.8 | 1.8 |
| Juwan Durham | 8.0 | 4.7 | 0.9 |
Florida State
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Trent Forrest | 11.7 | 4.3 | 4.1 |
| Devin Vassell | 12.9 | 5.2 | 1.6 |
| MJ Walker | 10.4 | 1.8 | 1.5 |
| RaiQuan Gray | 6.0 | 3.8 | 1.3 |
| Malik Osborne | 6.2 | 5.0 | 0.4 |
Preview
Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 74.5
Florida State: 75.3
Opponent Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 69.3
Florida State: 65.7
FG%
Notre Dame: 42.5%
Florida State: 45.9%
Rebounds Per Game
Notre Dame: 37.5
Florida State: 35.2
Assists Per Game
Notre Dame: 16.6
Florida State: 13.3
Blocks Per Game
Notre Dame: 3.8
Florida State: 5.4
Steals Per Game
Notre Dame: 5.9
Florida State: 8.8
Notre Dame competed in Tallahassee and almost left with a victory last month to the surprise of many. Wednesday will be a big game for both teams, but for different reasons. Florida State is playing for NCAA Tournament seeding, while the Irish are fighting for an opportunity at the Big Dance according to head coach Mike Brey.
“They know exactly where we are,” said Brey. “I gave them a state of the union. I won't give it to them this week. You have a one-game shot against a great team.
"They know they have work to do. I think they've been really good at focusing on the moment to get to 9-9 from 2-6. There is going to be so much crazy stuff that will happen. Why not us get in the middle of it and be part of the craziness."
While some aren’t quite as high on Notre Dame’s chances at the NCAA Tournament, a win would mean a lot to the Irish program. Notre Dame is in an 0-20 streak against ranked teams, so a victory over a top 10 team would reflect growth and provide momentum in Greensboro next week.
"That bothers me,” Brey said of the losing streak. “We used to be able to pick them off enough to really put us in position. Given how we trended two years ago and last year, it's kind of who we are and if we're trending the right way - this would be an important one to show you're back in that territory."
Notre Dame will need to cut down its turnovers to have a chance to win, which is something that cost them in January. The Irish turned the ball over 15 times, including seven by Prentiss Hubb.
“We turned the ball over too much down there. We had a chance to win, but we probably were the worst we were with the ball as far as live-ball turnovers. They probably got five buckets on steals and easy buckets.
"We have to deal with their defense because they are so athletic,” explained Brey. “They switch and get out. We're going to have to move them around a little bit.”
The Irish hit 10 threes in the first meeting and they’ll likely have to hit more to get a win, but they’ll also have to defend the three better. The Seminoles went 12-for-18 from deep, which included Wyatt Wilkes hitting 6-of-10 off the bench.
Wilkes has scored in double-figures just three times all year and has scored 0 points over the last two games, so he might be a threat, but expect Florida State’s stars to shine. Trent Forrest, Devin Vassell and MJ Walker were all held under their season averages and all three will be motivated coming off Saturday'ss loss to Clemson.
Notre Dame will win if they hit 13 three-pointers and have less than 10 turnovers. Yes, that’s asking a lot against a team with an enormous advantage in athleticism and length, but when you’re playing the No. 7 team in the country, you have to play perfect.
“They've really done some neat stuff to get us in this position from 2-6,” Brey said of his team. “It would be another step for them to kind of feel good about themselves and feel like you're getting better and more confident in March.
"It's huge. There is no question about it. It's a fine line of preparation and I don't want them uptight. We have to wing it and go for it."
Prediction: Florida State 81 Notre Dame 74