Game Thread/Preview: Florida State (17-7, 6-6) at Notre Dame (14-10, 4-7)
Florida State (17-7, 6-6) at Notre Dame (14-10, 4-7)
Date: February 10th
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion, Notre Dame, Ind.
TV: ESPN2
QUICK FACTS
- Florida State leads the all-time series 4-3, but the Seminoles are 0-2 in Purcell Pavilion.
- Notre Dame will honor the 1978 Final Four team at halftime.
- TJ Gibbs has scored in double-figures for 12 consecutive games.
- Matt Farrell leads the ACC in three-point field goals made per game at 2.95
- Farrell is also just 29 assists away from being the 16th player to reach 350 assists at Notre Dame.
- Notre Dame is expected to host 2018 guard signee Robby Carmody, 2019 five-star forward Isaiah Stewart and 2020 four-star guard Trey Galloway. (Weather permitting)
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Matt Farrell | 15.9 | 2.3 | 5.2 |
| TJ Gibbs | 16.2 | 3.0 | 3.2 |
| Rex Pflueger | 8.7 | 4.2 | 3.2 |
| Austin Torres | 2.0 | 2.3 | 0.5 |
| Martinas Geben | 10.1 | 7.9 | 1.2 |
Florida State
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| MJ Walker | 8.4 | 1.7 | 1.2 |
| Braian Angola | 13.8 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
| Terance Mann | 14.9 | 5.8 | 2.7 |
| Phil Cofer | 13.3 | 5.4 | 0.9 |
| Christ Koumadje | 8.7 | 5.4 | 0.1 |
National Rankings
| Category | Notre Dame | Florida State |
| Scoring Offense | 76.2 (117) | 83.4 (23) |
| Scoring Defense | 68.0 (73) | 72.7 (189) |
| Rebound Margin | 2.2 (124) | 4.3 (60) |
| Assist Per Game | 14.4 (134) | 15.8 (58) |
| FG% Offense | 44.9% (163) | 47.4% (52) |
| FG% Defense | 42.3% (101) | 40.8% (34) |
| Three-Pointers Per Game | 8.6 (94) | 8.5 (100) |
| Three-Point Percentage | 37.4% (75) | 36.3% (113) |
| Free-Throw Percentage | 75.9% (34) | 69.1% (255) |
| Assist-Turnover Ratio | 1.40 (23) | 1.22 (81) |
Preview
There is positive momentum back in the Notre Dame as the Irish saw a seven-game losing streak come to an end on Tuesday.
Enter Florida State.
The Seminoles have been up and down this season, but they present one challenge Notre Dame hasn't done well with this year and that's height.
MJ Walker: 6'5
Braian Angola: 6'6
Terance Mann: 6'6
Phil Cofer: 6'8
Christ Koumadje: 7'4
It'd be tough to find a bigger lineup than what Florida State brings to the table and life will be tough in the paint for the Irish on Saturday.
However, the Irish have shot the three-ball well with the return of Matt Farrell and that will be key as Notre Dame looks to win back-to-back games for the first time since the first week of January.
The Irish shot under 40 percent from the field for a month, but on Tuesday, Notre Dame exploded for 96 points and shot 52 percent from the field and head coach Mike Brey hopes there is more left in the tank.
"I hope we have some bullets in the gun for Saturday," laughed Brey on Thursday afternoon. "We used a lot of them. Our movement was good with Matt and TJ moving together and playing off each other.
“Rex’s playmaking has been fabulous. He’s rotated into finding TJ and Matt and the big guy for dump offs and then he’s going to hit a big one. He’s not hunting his shot as much, and he's just a playmaker. I thought he was great with that the other night.”
While the Irish need to shoot the three well, Notre Dame also needs to continue battling on the boards. Florida State is a Top 60 team in rebounds, so eliminating the length to get second-chance shots will be crucial for the undersized Irish.
Notre Dame needs a win on Saturday to continue hopes of postseason play with a tough one coming up on Monday.
"You go win two in this league, and you’re all of a sudden in the middle of the pack in the league," said Brey. "The middle of the pack of the league, there is still shouting distance to the tournament.
“It would be huge for us. We know we have a tough one coming not too long after that with North Carolina on the road on Monday.”
Prediction: Florida State 76 Notre Dame 69