Game Thread | NC State at Notre Dame
NC State (9-3, 1-0) at Notre Dame (6-7, 1-1)
Date: January 3rd
Time: 9:00 PM ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion | South Bend, Ind.
TV: ACC Network | Wes Durham and Dan Bonner
Line: NC State -4.5
O/U: 136.5
QUICK FACTS
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 10-9
- NC State won the last meeting 85-82 last year in Raleigh
- Notre Dame is 4-5 at home against the Wolfpack
- The Irish enter Wednesday’s game with the No. 3 scoring defense in the ACC at 65.6 ppg
- ESPN’s Matchup Predictor: 66.5 % in favor of NC State
PROJECTED STARTERS
NOTRE DAME
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Markus Burton | 15.9 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
| JR Konieczny | 10.3 | 5.9 | 0.8 |
| Carey Booth | 7.2 | 4.3 | 0.6 |
| Tae Davis | 8.2 | 5.7 | 0.8 |
| Kebba Njie | 4.4 | 4.4 | 0.8 |
NC State
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| DJ Horne | 15.0 | 2.9 | 2.8 |
| Casey Morsell | 12.3 | 2.9 | 2.0 |
| Jayden Taylor | 13.0 | 4.1 | 1.8 |
| DJ Burns Jr. | 13.2 | 5.0 | 2.8 |
| Dennis Parker Jr. | 6.9 | 4.3 | 0.7 |
TEAM STATS
| STAT | NC State | NOTRE DAME |
| Scoring Offense | 79.8 | 63.6 |
| Scoring Defense | 70.2 | 65.6 |
| FG% | 46.1% | 40.2% |
| Rebounds | 36.3 | 36.2 |
| Assists | 14.4 | 10.4 |
| Steals | 8.1 | 6.2 |
| Blocks | 2.8 | 2.7 |
THOUGHTS
Hello, Notre Dame basketball.
Micah Shrewsberry was at a crossroads at Christmas but the Irish showed signs of life on Saturday by beating Virginia into submission 76-54.
Should you start looking into NCAA Tournament trips in March? That seems a bit risky, but there is no doubt Notre Dame has taken Shrewsberry’s message to heart and started to play with the effort needed to win conference games.
The next step for this program is to win two games in a row against good competition.
NC State is 9-3 with losses to three major conference teams and only two wins (Boston College and Vandy) against Power Six opponents.
How does Notre Dame win? It starts with being efficient from three-point range. The Irish defense hasn’t been an issue this season, but three-point shooting has been below average. On Saturday, Notre Dame shot 11-of-23 (47.8%) from three and Virginia had no answer.
Shooting 47 percent from three in back-to-back games might be a tall ask for this group, but Notre Dame simply needs to avoid shooting 3-for-21.
NC State does have veteran guards who are also productive, so that will be an area to watch. The ACC’s Rookie of the Week, Markus Burton, has found ways to score, but teams have also taken advantage of Notre Dame’s young guards on the other end of the floor while also forcing timely turnovers.
If Burton and the Irish guards can take care of the ball, Notre Dame will have a chance to get a second league win.
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