Game Thread | No. 11 Florida State at Notre Dame
No. 11 Florida State (15-4, 11-3) at Notre Dame (9-14, 6-11)
Date: March 6th
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion | Notre Dame, Ind.
Line: Florida State -6.5
Quick Facts
- Mike Brey is 4-7 when facing Florida State and 4-7 against Leonard Hamilton
- Florida State leads the series 4-6.
- Juwan Durham has scored in double-figures in nine consecutive games.
- 21 points is the career-high for seniors Juwan Durham and Nik Djogo.
- Djogo will be playing in his 100th game for the Irish on Saturday. He is the 31st Irish player to reach 100 games played during the Mike Brey era.
- Prentiss Hubb needs 15 more points to become the 65th Notre Dame player to reach 1,000 points in his career and the 24th of the Mike Brey era. Should he reach 1,000 points this season, he would be the sixth player of the Brey era (that played all seasons for Coach Brey) to reach that plateau in his third season of action.
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Prentiss Hubb | 14.3 | 3.3 | 6.1 |
| Nik Djogo | 4.8 | 3.2 | 0.9 |
| Dane Goodwin | 12.1 | 5.3 | 1.7 |
| Nate Laszewski | 13.9 | 7.7 | 0.7 |
| Juwan Durham | 10.6 | 5.1 | 1.4 |
Florida State
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| RayQuan Evans | 6.2 | 2.3 | 1.4 |
| Wyatt Wilkes | 4.7 | 1.7 | 1.2 |
| MJ Walker | 13.1 | 2.7 | 2.5 |
| RaiQuan Gray | 12.2 | 6.7 | 2.4 |
| Balsa Koprivica | 9.0 | 5.6 | 0.7 |
Preview
Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 72.5
Florida State: 79.9
Opponent Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 73.1
Florida State: 69.4
FG%
Notre Dame: 46.5%
Florida State: 47.5%
Rebounds Per Game
Notre Dame: 33.3
Florida State: 37.5
Assists Per Game
Notre Dame: 15.3
Florida State: 15.3
Blocks Per Game
Notre Dame: 3.8
Florida State: 5.3
Steals Per Game
Notre Dame: 3.8
Florida State: 7.7
Pulling 24 games during a pandemic is quite the feat. Notre Dame will hold its Senior Day on Saturday as Juwan Durham and Nik Djogo will suit up for the final time in Purcell Pavilion.
That’s where the happy and positive thoughts stop as No. 11 Florida State comes to South Bend. The top team in the ACC will face a Notre Dame program that has lost four in a row with little effort in those losses.
Two weeks ago, Notre Dame was looking at his game as a potential NCAA Tournament resume builder, but those hopes quickly faded. In fact, the Irish have faded so much that just a competitive effort heading into the ACC Tournament would likely be considered a positive step.
If the loss to Boston College wasn’t the nail in the coffin, Wednesday’s loss to NC State was for most fans. Brey and those around the program have pointed to year three of the 2018 recruiting class as the turning point after throwing them to the wolves out of necessity.
The junior class has never flipped the page. Brey has failed to see his group mature to the point to win close games or to put teams away like Syracuse two weeks ago. Instead, Brey watched a trio of freshmen from NC State score 45 points on his veteran squad.
"We were outplayed by some men on both ends of the floor,” Brey said following the loss to NC State. “Again, I think you have to give NC State credit. They're playing great and they're a physical, tough group of kids that kind of put on us today - both ends."
It’s a telling quote.
Brey’s veteran squad was outplayed by freshmen so much he called them men.
If NC State’s men ran Notre Dame off the court, Brey might not want to see what Florida State can do as the Noles beat NC State 105-73 earlier this year.
The Noles are everything Notre Dame isn’t as they are athletic, long, play defense and can create their own shots. Leonard Hamilton has built a deep roster once again and it’s something ACC fans are used to seeing from the program.
Look for Florida State to press and then push Notre Dame off the perimeter in the halfcourt. In the past, Florida State has given Matt Farrell and TJ Gibbs fits with its halfcourt defense, so Saturday has the potential to get ugly.
Prediction: Florida State 81 Notre Dame 66