Game Thread | Pitt at Notre Dame
Pittsburgh (11-19, 6-13) at Notre Dame (21-9, 14-5)
Date: March 5
Time: 2:30 PM ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion | Notre Dame, Ind.
TV: ESPNEWS | Jay Alter and Mike Lightfoot
Line: Notre Dame -12.5
O/U: 132.0
Quick Facts
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 36-31, including 18-11 at home.
- Mike Brey is 3-1 against Jeff Capel.
- An Irish win would set a new program record for conference wins (15).
- Notre Dame is 16-1 when shooting better than its opponent this season.
- Notre Dame is the only major conference school in the country with two players in the top five in three-point field goal percentage - senior Nate Laszewski (.453) and classmate Dane Goodwin (.449).
- The Irish have connected on 10-or-more 3FGs 14 times this season (and are 13-1 in those contests).
- Prentiss Hubb has 380 career assists in ACC play.
- Freshman Blake Wesley has scored 447 points this season. He would be the fourth freshman in program history to score over 500 in his rookie year.
PROJECTED STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Prentiss Hubb | 8.8 | 3.2 | 3.9 |
| Blake Wesley | 14.9 | 3.6 | 2.5 |
| Dane Goodwin | 14.2 | 4.8 | 1.3 |
| Cormac Ryan | 7.8 | 4.8 | 1.9 |
| Paul Atkinson Jr. | 12.7 | 7.3 | 1.5 |
Pittsburgh
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Femi Odukale | 11.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
| Ithiel Horton | 10.5 | 2.9 | 1.3 |
| Jamarius Burton | 12.8 | 3.7 | 2.5 |
| Mouhamadou Gueye | 9.6 | 6.2 | 1.1 |
| John Hugley | 14.8 | 8.1 | 1.3 |
Preview
| Category | Pittsburgh | Notre Dame |
| Points | 62.3 | 72.1 |
| Opponent Points | 67.8 | 66.6 |
| FG% | 41.7% | 45.8% |
| Rebounds | 34.3 | 34.3 |
| Assists | 11.1 | 13.9 |
| Blocks | 3.9 | 1.9 |
| Steals | 5.3 | 5.3 |
It’s Senior Day at Purcell Pavilion and Notre Dame’s seniors will have a chance to make a statement against a struggling Pitt team. The Irish have secured a double-bye in next week’s ACC Tournament, but second place is on the line.
Notre Dame can also make some school history as a 15th conference win would surpass the program record of 14 ACC wins in a season.
Mike Brey’s team is coming off a disappointing loss in Tallahassee on Wednesday, but don’t expect the Irish to dwell on it as the focus has been finishing the year strong at home for the senior class.
“We talked about our seniors and what we've done as we've moved on quickly,” Brey said on Wednesday following the Florida State game. “Talked a little bit about being able to control the defensive boards. We didn't do it enough tonight, but we've done it enough this year to put us in position.
"I talked a little bit about our seniors and what they've meant not only this year to our program and Saturday is going to be a great day for us. Let's get out of here and move on."
Every senior on the roster is able to return next season with the exception of Paul Atkinson Jr (for now), but Notre Dame will still need to manage the emotions of Senior Day as NCAA Tournament seeding is also on the line.
”I've talked to them about it's our time,” stated Brey. “We can dream big dreams in the postseason because I think they are realistic. We'll see if we can play well for our seniors on Saturday and then set the tone for Brooklyn.”
| Pitt Last 5 | Notre Dame Last 5 |
| Duke (86-56) L | at Florida State (74-70) L |
| Miami (85-64) L | Georgia Tech (90-56) W |
| Georgia Tech (68-62) L | Syracuse (79-69) W |
| at North Carolina (76-67) W | at Wake Forest (79-74) L |
| NC State (71-69) W | Boston College (99-95) W |