Game Thread | Notre Dame at Wake Forest
Notre Dame (19-7, 12-3) at Wake Forest (20-7, 10-6)
Date: Feb. 19
Time: 1:00 PM ET
Where: Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum | Winston-Salem (N.C.)
TV: Bally Sports (Regional Sports Networks) | Tom Werme and Mike Gminski
Line: Wake Forest -6.0
O/U: 143
Quick Facts
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 8-5.
- Mike Brey is 2-0 against Steve Forbes.
- Notre Dame holds an impressive 6-2 record on the road in ACC play this season.
- With 12 wins in their first 15 ACC games, the 2021-22 team has matched the 2014-15 squad for the best start to ACC competition in program history.
- Prentiss Hubb’s assist-to-turnover ratio in ACC play is 5.7.
PROJECTED STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Prentiss Hubb | 8.6 | 2.9 | 3.5 |
| Blake Wesley | 14.4 | 3.6 | 2.6 |
| Dane Goodwin | 15.1 | 5.0 | 1.3 |
| Cormac Ryan | 7.5 | 4.7 | 1.8 |
| Paul Atkinson Jr. | 12.4 | 6.9 | 1.5 |
Wake Forest
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Alondes Williams | 19.8 | 6.8 | 5.2 |
| Daivien Williamson | 12.3 | 2.4 | 1.1 |
| Dallas Walton | 8.3 | 4.9 | 1.1 |
| Isaiah Mucius | 9.7 | 3.4 | 0.9 |
| Jake LaRavia | 14.6 | 6.6 | 3.7 |
Preview
| Category | Notre Dame | Wake Forest |
| Points | 71.1 | 78.4 |
| Opponent Points | 66.2 | 68.8 |
| FG% | 45.6% | 48.7% |
| Rebounds | 33.8 | 36.8 |
| Assists | 13.6 | 15.3 |
| Blocks | 2.0 | 4.0 |
| Steals | 5.4 | 6.5 |
The good news: Notre Dame is on a five-game winning streak. The bad news: Mike Brey’s team is headed to Wake Forest to play one of the premier offenses in the ACC after giving up 95 points to Boston College on Wednesday night.
Now, Notre Dame is 6-2 on the road, but this game might look a little different as offense will be king despite the Irish winning games with defense for most of the year.
This game comes down to Wake Forest point guard Alondes Williams, who would likely be ACC Player of the Year if there wasn't a guy named Paolo Banchero at Duke. Williams is averaging 19.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. He shoots over 50 percent from the field and is simply one of the conference's elite playmakers.
Notre Dame needs to figure out a way to pressure him into making mistakes as Williams has been turnover-prone as he averages 3.7 a game, including seven games with six or more turnovers.
On offense, Brey’s team has won in many different ways, so it’ll be interesting to see how they score on Saturday. In Wednesday's win over Boston College, the Irish had got away from its motion offense to a drive attack and won by getting the line.
“In the second half we got away from our motion and predictable movement,” Brey said. “We were just ball screening and playing. We call it open.
"(Prentiss) Hubb went to the hole and got the foul line because we were just driving it. That's an option for us too. That's kind of how we started playing early in the season, then we've gone to motion and at times, we go to open. We just said at halftime, let's just play and we're going to have to score tonight.
"We played a little faster that way and got into a pretty good rhythm.”
Senior forward Nate Laszewski has played in the last two games and is now two weeks out from his contusion. If he can add a couple of threes, it could go a long way towards the Irish hitting the 20-win mark this season.
Wake Forest Last Five
@ Duke - 76-74 L
Miami - 76-72 L
@ NC State - 69-51 W
Florida State - 68-60
Pitt - 91-75 W
Notre Dame Last Five
Boston College - 99-95 W/OT
@ Clemson - 76-61 W
Louisville - 63-57 W
@ NC State - 69-57 W
@ Miami - 68-64 W