Game Thread | Georgia Tech at Notre Dame

Georgia Tech (11-17, 4-13) at Notre Dame (20-8, 13-4) 

Date: Feb. 26

Time: 5:00 PM ET 

Where: Purcell Pavilion | Notre Dame, Ind. 

TV: ACC Network | Mike Monaco and Randolph Childress 

Line: Notre Dame -10.0

O/U: 137.5

ACC Standings

Quick Facts 

- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 13-12. 

- Mike Brey is 7-4 against Josh Pastner. 

- With a season-high 10 assists against Syracuse on Wednesday, senior Prentiss Hubb moved into fifth place on the all-time assists list at Notre Dame with 552, surpassing Tim Singleton (549, 1987-91).

- Cormac Ryan is averaging 12.0 points per game since stepping into the starting lineup against Louisville on Feb. 9.

- Notre Dame has reached the 20-win mark for the 16th time under Mike Brey.

- A Notre Dame win would clinch a top-four finish in the final ACC standings and earn the Irish a double-bye in the ACC Tournament.

PROJECTED STARTERS

Notre Dame

Georgia Tech    

Preview

Notre Dame got past the Syracuse 2-3 zone on Wednesday night and will have a chance to wrap up a double-bye in the ACC Tournament this afternoon as Georgia Tech comes to Purcell Pavilion. 

A win clinches a top-four finish and the coveted double-bye, but it will be a tough task as Georgia Tech will throw the kitchen sink at the Irish. The Yellow Jackets will use zone on Saturday, so Mike Brey’s team will need to once again demonstrate patience and shoot well from deep. 

"When I think about Georgia Tech, we had to escape with an overtime win,” stated Brey. “We're going to see a lot of zone again. Maybe not if we had 19 assists. I don't know what Josh (Pastner) has up his sleeve. We did play against a lot of zone down there.” 

What made the Irish successful on Wednesday? Ball movement and decision-making, which are principles for winning at this time of the year. 

“You have 19 assists and I thought we were really efficient against the zone,” Brey said of the victory over Syracuse. “Made some good decisions and believed we were going to win. This group believes they're going to figure out a way to win.” 

Prentiss Hubb has been up and down this year, but the senior point guard has found his stride on both ends of the floor in recent weeks. Brey has noticed the raise in play and knows it's the right time for Hubb to elevate his game. 

"That was an absolute clinic by a point guard,” stated Brey. “’Move in there, you get to the foul line.’ He's talking at the timeouts, 'Blake, drive it. You don't have to shoot it. Drive it.'

"Then he's picking up Joe Girard. I thought what helped us was we picked up 3/4 court and zig-zagged the ball handler a little bit. I thought he did a great job of that. That's exhausting. 

"He's so fun to coach. What a winner. What a leader." 

Locking down the double-bye is important, but Brey also wants to continue to put on a good show for the fans, including the students as it will be the last home game in front of The Legion. 

"I kind of look at it as we have two more home games for our fans,” said Brey. “One for our student body because spring break is the Pitt weekend and I don't think we'll have many of our students. I just want to really finish it for them. They've been great and they've really helped us believe."