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Notre Dame Basketball

Game Preview/Thread: Notre Dame  (16-12, 6-9) at Wake Forest (11-17, 4-12)

February 24, 2018
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Notre Dame  (16-12, 6-9) at Wake Forest (11-17, 4-12)


Date: February 24th

Time: 3:00 p.m. ET

Where: Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum

TV: ACC Network

ACC Standings

QUICK FACTS


- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 4-3. 

- The Irish are 1-1 in Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

- Notre Dame is 16-14 in games played on February 24. 

- Martinas Geben is on pace to be among just 10 players to shoot over .600 in a single season at Notre Dame 

- Matt Farrell currently has 984 career points.

- T.J. Gibbs and Matt Farrell are on a streak of 15 consecutive games with at least one three-point field goal.


THE STARTERS

Notre Dame

Name Points Rebounds Assists
Matt Farrell  17.0 2.5 5.5
TJ Gibbs 15.8 2.8 3.0
Rex Pflueger 8.6 4.1 3.2
Austin Torres 2.1 2.5 0.4
Martinas Geben 10.8 7.8 1.1

Wake Forest

Name Points Rebounds Assists
Bryant Crawford 16.9 3.0 5.0
Chaundee Brown 7.6 2.9 1.1
Mitchell Wilbekin 8.8 2.5 1.5
Terrence Thompson 3.7 4.2 0.3
Doral Moore 11.3 9.6 0.3

National Rankings 

Category Notre Dame Wake Forest
Scoring Offense 76.3 (100) 74.4 (166)
Scoring Defense 68.9 (89)  74.7 (237)
Rebound Margin 1.5 (146) 1.9 (123)
Assist Per Game 14.4 (127) 13.7 (174)
FG% Offense 45.6% (134) 44.5% (193)
FG% Defense  43.1% (122) 43.9% (186)
Three-Pointers Per Game 8.8 (76) 7.8 (165)
Three-Point Percentage  38.2% (51) 38.4% (42)
Free-Throw Percentage 75.2% (53) 74.0% (78)
Assist-Turnover Ratio 1.40 (23) 1.05 (190)

Preview
Notre Dame heads back to Tobacco Road for the final time this season for a crucial matchup against Wake Forest. 

The Irish will have to contain center Doral Moore. The 7-foot-1 junior enters the game averaging 11.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per contest. 

Moore had a big-time performance against Syracuse this month with 16 points and 16 rebounds and also is coming off a game where he scored 13 points and nine boards against Pitt on Wednesday. 

Martinas Geben will need to stay out of foul trouble and continue his big season on the offensive end. 

Stopping Bryant Crawford will also be key on Saturday. The 6-foot-3 guard is averaging 16.9 points a game and is the key to the offense. Crawford scored 29 points a week ago at NC State. 

Overall, winning the battle on the boards will be important for Notre Dame with the limited offense without Bonzie Colson and DJ Harvey. Getting second shots and limiting easy putbacks from Wake Forest sounds clichè but the little things are significant for the Irish.

A quick start would do wonder for the Irish as Mike Brey told his team he wanted them in "Bounce Back" mode as he is trying to eliminate the pressure of winning the last three game for a chance at the NCAA Tournament. 

Prediction: Notre Dame 78 Wake Forest 71

 

 
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