Game Thread | Clemson at Notre Dame
Clemson (20-8, 10-7) at Notre Dame (11-17, 6-11)
Date: March 2nd
Time: 7:45PM ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion | South Bend, Ind.
TV: The CW | Tom Werme and Jordan Cornette
Line: Clemson -5.5
O/U: 131.5
QUICK FACTS
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 8-3
- The Tigers won the last meeting 87-64 last March in Clemson
- Freshman Markus Burton has scored in double figures in 21 straight games
- Burton has scored 481 points this season, which is No. 6 all-time for a Notre Dame freshman
- Notre Dame is No. 2 in the ACC in scoring defense at 65.6 ppg
- Freshman Braeden Shrewsberry has made 52 threes in ACC play, which is a program record
- ESPN’s Matchup Predictor: 81.6% in favor of Clemson
PROJECTED STARTERS
NOTRE DAME
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Markus Burton | 17.2 | 3.2 | 4.3 |
| Braeden Shrewsberry | 10.0 | 2.5 | 0.8 |
| Tae Davis | 8.3 | 5.2 | 0.9 |
| Carey Booth | 6.1 | 4.2 | 0.5 |
| Kebba Njie | 4.5 | 5.5 | 0.8 |
CLEMSON
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Joe Girard III | 15.8 | 3.2 | 2.9 |
| Chase Hunter | 12.6 | 2.5 | 3.0 |
| Jack Clark | 3.7 | 5.1 | 1.2 |
| Ian Schieffelin | 9.6 | 9.4 | 2.2 |
| PJ Hall | 18.5 | 7.0 | 1.6 |
TEAM STATS
| STAT | CLEMSON | NOTRE DAME |
| Scoring Offense | 78.4 | 63.4 |
| Scoring Defense | 70.8 | 65.6 |
| FG% | 47.1% | 40.6% |
| Rebounds | 37.4 | 36.3 |
| Assists | 15.0 | 10.0 |
| Blocks | 4.2 | 2.6 |
| Steals | 4.4 | 5.9 |
| Turnovers | 10.4 | 12.9 |
THOUGHTS
The ACC clash will also feature two of the hottest teams in the league as Clemson has won six of seven and the Irish are winners are four of the last five.
Clemson dominated an unmotivated Notre Dame team last March as all five starters for the Tigers scored in double figures. It’s a low bar, but the Irish should be able to do much better with this group as Micah Shrewsberry has brought back an emphasis on defense and Notre Dame simply plays with effort.
PJ Hall will be the focus for the Irish as he’s the No. 3 scorer in the ACC at 18.5 ppg. The Irish have done a pretty good job all year with big men, but Hall will be a tough test as he’s crafty and brings 112 games of experience to the table.
It’s also worth noting that Hall is clearly banged up and he’s not been as efficient in recent weeks because of it. Fellow big man, Ian Schieffelin, also appears to be playing through some type of injury and Clemson has tried to dial back his first half minutes recently.
On the perimeter, Notre Dame will meet with Joe Girard III once again and for the first time with Clemson. Girard has two 20-point games against the Irish, but he has also been held to single-digits three times, including last January, where he scored just seven points.
Notre Dame’s youth are finally starting to show signs of growth and it’s led to big performances from several players over the last few weeks. The next step will be the Irish getting three or four players going at the same time on the offensive end.
Carey Booth should enter Saturday’s contest with his confidence at an all-time high, while Braeden Shrewsberry just set a program record for freshman threes in ACC play.
Freshman All-American candidate Markus Burton has scored in double-figures in 21 straight games and that also includes scoring at least 16 points in the last eight games. Burton is flirting with history as he could be the first player in program history to average 17 ppg, 4.0 apg and 2.0 spg. The Mishawaka native is one of five players in the nation averaging that entering the weekend.
The win over Wake Forest was a game where it proved Notre Dame could close out a team fighting for its NCAA Tournament life. Saturday will be a chance to show the Irish can beat an NCAA Tournament team as Clemson enters as a projected No. 5 seed.
Notre Dame will honor three seniors on Saturday as Matt Zona, Tony Sanders Jr. and Raheem Braiton will play their final home game at Purcell Pavilion.
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