Game Thread | Notre Dame at No. 5 Florida State
Notre Dame (11-7, 2-5) at No. 5 Florida State (16-2, 6-1)
Date: January 25th
Time: 8:00p.m. ET
Where: Donald L. Tucker Civic Center | Tallahassee, Fla.
TV: ACC Network | Mike Monaco and Dan Bonner
Quick Facts
- Notre Dame and Florida State will meet for just the 10th time on Saturday.
- The Seminoles lead the all-time series 5-4 and neither team has won on the road in the series.
- John Mooney leads the nation in rebounds per game at 13.9.
- Mooney has recorded double-doubles in 15 of 17 games played this season, including 12 consecutive.
- Notre Dame leads the country in least amount of fouls committed per game (12.2).
- Notre Dame leads the country in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.86.
- TJ Gibbs needs 13 points to become Notre Dame’s all-time leading scorer in ACC competition.
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Prentiss Hubb | 12.9 | 2.2 | 5.0 |
| TJ Gibbs | 13.4 | 2.6 | 3.6 |
| Dane Goodwin | 4.6 | 3.3 | 3.6 |
| Rex Pflueger | 15.4 | 13.9 | 1.9 |
| John Mooney | 7.9 | 6.1 | 0.9 |
Florida State
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Trent Forrest | 11.8 | 4.0 | 4.1 |
| Devin Vassel | 13.2 | 5.1 | 1.6 |
| MJ Walker | 11.6 | 1.9 | 1.5 |
| RaiQuan Gray | 5.7 | 3.6 | 1.4 |
| Malik Osborne | 6.3 | 5.1 | 0.6 |
Preview
Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 75.4
Florida State: 75.5
Opponent Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 67.1
Florida State: 63.6
FG%
Notre Dame: 42.6%
Florida State: 46.0%
Rebounds Per Game
Notre Dame: 39.4
Florida State: 33.8
Assists Per Game
Notre Dame: 17.9
Florida State: 13.7
Blocks Per Game
Notre Dame: 4.4
Florida State: 5.8
Steals Per Game
Notre Dame: 6.0
Florida State: 9.8
It might not matter in the grand scheme but Mike Brey will make changes to the starting lineup and that means the Irish will likely downshift to start the game, which is a little odd in timing as Florida State is one of the biggest and longest teams on the schedule.
“We’ll head to Tallahassee, I think we’ve got to start the game differently,” Brey said. “I think we’ve got to change it up, change our starting lineup. I don’t know who we start, but I think we’ve got to just do something different and start the game differently. The smaller lineup gave us good stuff again. They kind of were part of the surge to get back in it.
“I think when you’re searching, you just change it up to change it up.”
Florida State’s athleticism and length bothered Notre Dame in past matchups and while the Irish lead the country in assist-to-turnover ratio, taking care of the ball will be vital. The Noles will push the Irish off the three-point line, which will be a challenge as no one on the roster has proven they can consistently drive to the rim this season.
The good news for Brey is sophomore point guard Prentiss Hubb has raised his game on the road this year in ACC play and another big night would be extremely helpful.
Hubb has surpassed 20 points in each ACC road game this year and is also averaging 5.0 assists and shooting 50 percent from three in those contests. (UNC, NC State, Syracuse and Georgia Tech)
For Notre Dame to win, the Irish will need to make at least 11 three-pointers and take at least 14 free throws. The Florida State defense is aggressive and protects the rim, but the Irish will need to attack the paint, which is something they haven’t done consistently.
Notre Dame needs to get points any way they can and getting to the free-throw line is one way to do just that. If Notre Dame takes three free throws as they did against Louisville, it could get ugly in Tally.
Prediction: Florida State 78 Notre Dame 62