Game Preview/Thread: Notre Dame (15-11, 5-8) at Boston College (16-10, 6-7)
Notre Dame (15-11, 5-8) at Boston College (16-10, 6-7)
Date: February 17th
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET
Where: Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
TV: ACC Network
QUICK FACTS
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 20-10.
- The Irish have 10 straight games against the Eagles.
- Matt Farrell is the seventh player a Notre Dame to reach 350 assists and 150 three-point FGs made.
- With the next win, the senior class will become the all-time winningest class in school history.
- Farrell is just 69 points away from hitting the 1,000-point mark for his career.
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Matt Farrell | 16.1 | 2.3 | 5.4 |
| TJ Gibbs | 16.0 | 3.0 | 3.1 |
| Rex Pflueger | 8.8 | 4.2 | 3.2 |
| John Mooney | 6.1 | 3.9 | 0.5 |
| Martinas Geben | 10.4 | 7.9 | 1.1 |
Boston College
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Ky Bowman | 16.6 | 7.1 | 5.1 |
| Jerome Robinson | 20.7 | 3.5 | 3.2 |
| Jordan Chatman | 12.9 | 2.6 | 1.5 |
| Steffon Mitchell | 6.6 | 8.2 | 2.0 |
| Nik Popovic | 9.0 | 6.2 | 1.3 |
National Rankings
| Category | Notre Dame | Boston College |
| Scoring Offense | 76.1 (111) | 76.1 (111) |
| Scoring Defense | 68.7 (81) | 72.2 (174) |
| Rebound Margin | 1.5 (145) | 2.8 (92) |
| Assist Per Game | 14.4 (133) | 14.2 (144) |
| FG% Offense | 44.8% (175) | 45.2% (154) |
| FG% Defense | 42.7% (109) | 42.8% (116) |
| Three-Pointers Per Game | 8.7 (81) | 8.9 (66) |
| Three-Point Percentage | 37.4% (71) | 37.1% (87) |
| Free-Throw Percentage | 75.2% (50) | 74.5% (70) |
| Assist-Turnover Ratio | 1.42 (20) | 1.10 (147) |
Preview
It was an offensive shootout the last time these teams met on February 6th in South Bend. The Irish held on for a 96-85 win as T.J. Gibbs scored a career-high 28 points, including five three-pointers. John Mooney scored 16 points off the bench and has been playing very well recently, coming off a career night in Chapel Hill Monday night.
The Eagles also had a strong offensive game as Jerome Robinson set a career-high with 46 points, breaking a 40-year old record for points scored at Purcell Pavilion. Limiting Robinson will be the biggest key on Saturday. Robinson accounts for nearly 30 percent of the Eagles offense so shutting him down with go a long way.
Even since losing Bonzie Colson to injury, the Irish have shot just 40 percent as a team. Last Tuesday however, the Irish shot nearly 53 percent, including 55 percent from downtown. The Eagles allow teams to shoot about 43 percent from the field and 35 percent from three-point range, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Saturday’s game be high-scoring.
The Irish scored their highest point total since the third game of the season in their last meeting with the Eagles.
Offense will be a key to victory in this game and the Irish need to get going early as they’ve had issues on the road this season, posting a record of 3-6. The Eagles are 13-2 at home including a December victory over Duke.
At this point, the Irish can’t afford many more ACC losses if they want to have a shot at the NCAA tournament. A 9-9 conference record is still within reach, and a victory on Saturday could go a long way.
Prediction: Notre Dame 86, Boston College 83