Game Thread | Clemson at Notre Dame
Clemson (10-5, 2-2) at Notre Dame (9-5, 3-1)
Date: Jan 12
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion | Notre Dame, Ind.
TV: Regional Sports Networks (Bally Sports) | Evan Lepler and Mike Gminski
Line: Notre Dame -3.0
O/U: 139.0
Quick Facts
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 6-2
- Mike Brey holds a record of 6-2 against Brad Brownell.
- Notre Dame has won seven straight games at Purcell Pavilion dating back to last season.
- Dane Goodwin has scored in double figures in 14 straight games and averaging 16.7 ppg in Purcell Pavilion this season.
- Blake Wesley’s 14.3 ppg is second-best in the ACC for a true freshman.
- Wesley has scored 200 points through 14 career games.
- Prentiss Hubb is four assists away from becoming the ninth Notre Dame player to hit the 500 assists mark.
- Trey Wertz sits at 981 career points. (747 points were scored at Santa Clara from 2018-20)
PROJECTED STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Prentiss Hubb | 7.9 | 2.4 | 3.6 |
| Blake Wesley | 14.3 | 3.1 | 2.1 |
| Dane Goodwin | 15.0 | 5.4 | 1.2 |
| Nate Laszewski | 8.1 | 7.4 | 0.7 |
| Paul Atkinson Jr. | 11.7 | 6.5 | 1.6 |
Clemson
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Nick Honor | 9.6 | 1.8 | 3.1 |
| Al-Amir Dawes | 11.5 | 3.3 | 2.1 |
| David Collins | 11.3 | 7.2 | 2.1 |
| PJ Hall | 14.7 | 6.0 | 1.5 |
| Hunter Tyson | 11.6 | 6.1 | 1.5 |
Preview
| Category | Clemson | Notre Dame |
| Points | 74.2 | 70.8 |
| Opponent Points | 65.9 | 66.1 |
| FG% | 47.4% | 44.7% |
| Rebounds | 35.8 | 33.9 |
| Assists | 14.5 | 13.9 |
| Blocks | 2.6 | 2.4 |
| Steals | 5.7 | 5.6 |
The ACC has done Notre Dame zero favors regarding scheduling since the Irish joined the conference and 2020-21 is no different.
Wednesday will mark the beginning of a wild January stretch for Mike Brey's team as the Irish will play three games over the next six days before ending the month (and starting February) with four games in seven days. Notre Dame will host Clemson tonight before heading on the road to play Virginia Tech (Saturday) and Howard on Monday.
The Tigers are a program Brey and the Irish aren't overly familiar with as the teams haven't seen each other since Feb. 9th of 2020.
"You look at them and he's had some change in personnel," Brey said of Brad Brownell's team. "You didn't really pay attention to them last year. You never even got to the scouting report because we didn't play them.
"They're an offensive group. They're still solid defensively. He always hung his hat on D. They're shooting the ball and skilled. It's really like playing against ourselves a little bit - a gifted offensive team.
"They've won on the road at NC State and Virginia. They're a hell of a challenge. I was very impressed with them. They kind of snuck up on me the last couple days because we didn't play them last year. You weren't paying attention to personnel. There's been a little more catch up from me with Clemson."
Brey's staff and team are focused on Clemson, but also on managing the health and minutes of his seven-man rotation during this tough stretch.
"We're just really being smart about recovery," explained Brey. "Our seven guys are our seven guys. No one has really said I'm another guy you can put in there even though JR (Konieczny) and Matt Zona have gotten better in practice. If those seven guys are healthy, that's the nucleus that's found itself a little bit. I think we're going to ride that.
"You hope for health and lack of foul trouble, which we did a little better job of the other night. Right now, you're not practicing very long. These are veteran guys. They've played a lot of basketball and you're trying to keep them fresh."
Despite the short bench, Brey has kept the minutes manageable and only senior Dane Goodwin makes the list of top 15 players of minutes played in the ACC (13th) at 34 minutes per game.
"The main guys, especially those three seniors and Paul - and Blake is just a special athlete - they've all been able to play longer minutes," stated Brey.
"If you look at rotations and minutes, it's seven guys maybe eight and the guys know they're playing and play right because they know they're going to get their minutes.
"We used to have two of the top five in minutes played. I think Goodwin and Hubb were in the top five. I didn't know we only had one in the top 15. We just feel really comfortable."
Purcell Pavilion has also been kind to Notre Dame as the Irish have quietly won seven games in a row at home.
Brey knows the importance of holding homecourt and made his way to the Notre Dame dining halls on Tuesday to encourage students to show up.
"We got an opportunity. We've played well here. We've been confident here, no matter how gloomy it looked at times. We've figured out a way to get out. I think we're going to have a good student section, especially after my visit to the dining hall this afternoon.
"I didn't fall off either dining hall table. The rectors were a little nervous when I stood up on the table and blew my whistle. A couple professors look at me like that guy is nuts.
"We'll have good juice in here. Can we hold serve and can you get to 4-1 in this league?"
Clemson Last Five
@ NC State - 70-65 W
Virginia - 75-65 L
@ Virginia - 67-50 W
South Carolina - 70-56 W
Miami (Ohio) - 89-76 W
Notre Dame Last Five
@ Georgia Tech - 72-68 OT W
North Carolina - 78-73 W
@ Pitt - 68-67 W
Texas A&M Corpus Christi - 83-73 W
Western Michigan - 85-52 W