Game Thread | No. 15 Notre Dame vs. No. 10 Georgia Tech | ACC Tournament
No. 15 Notre Dame (13-18, 3-15) vs. No. 10 Georgia Tech (14-17, 6-12)
Date: March 12th
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
Where: Spectrum Center | Charlotte, N.C.
TV: ESPN | Anish Shroff, Dan Dakich and Maria Taylor
QUICK FACTS
- Notre Dame and Georgia Tech will meet for the 21st time. The Irish lead the ACC series 7-5.
- Georgia Tech beat Notre Dame 63-61 on Jan. 22nd, while the Irish won the second matchup on Feb. 10th 69-59.
- Notre Dame is 8-4 all-time in the ACC Tournament.
- The Irish won the ACC Tournament in 2015 and advanced to the championship game in 2017.
- John Mooney is just one of two players in the nation who have scored 430+ points, pulled down 330+ rebounds, hit 30+ three-pointers and recorded 40+ assists.
- Mooney is also in sixth on the single-season rebound total during the Brey era with 348 rebounds this year. He is three rebounds behind Luke Harangody (351) and six behind Jack Cooley (354).
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Prentiss Hubb | 8.2 | 3.0 | 4.0 |
| TJ Gibbs | 13.4 | 1.9 | 3.4 |
| Dane Goodwin | 6.2 | 3.1 | 1.1 |
| Nate Laszewski | 6.9 | 3.9 | 0.2 |
| John Mooney | 14.1 | 11.2 | 1.3 |
Georgia Tech
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Jose Alvarado | 12.8 | 3.9 | 3.3 |
| Michael Devoe | 9.7 | 3.4 | 2.6 |
| Moses Wright | 6.1 | 3.6 | 0.7 |
| Khalid Moore | 3.9 | 1.4 | 1.1 |
| James Banks III | 10.5 | 7.6 |
1.3 |
STATS
| Stats (Per Game) | Notre Dame | Georgia Tech |
| Points Per Game | 68.9 | 65.2 |
| Opp. Points Per Game | 68.7 | 66.2 |
| FG% | 39.5% | 43.8% |
| Rebounds | 36.5 | 33.6 |
| Assists | 12.9 | 13.5 |
| Blocks | 4.6 | 5.2 |
| Steals | 5.6 | 7.0 |
Preview
Notre Dame beat Georgia Tech 69-59 on February 10th and it was the second win in three games for the Irish. Fast forward a month and the 10-point win was Notre Dame’s last win.
In the win, the Irish shot just 32 percent from the field and 22 percent from three-point range.
Notre Dame will undoubtedly have to shoot better on Tuesday afternoon to advance in the ACC Tournament. It will start with junior guard TJ Gibbs.
Gibbs scored 20 points and added five assists in the win over the Yellow Jackets, but he has struggled for most of the season. Notre Dame needs a consistent scoring option from the perimeter and Gibbs is the guy Mike Brey is going to look to on Tuesday.
If Gibbs shoots like this, I like Notre Dame’s chances.
Notre Dame will also need to get John Mooney involved early. Mooney, who named All-ACC third-team, shot just 1-for-11 during Saturday’s loss to Pitt. The junior forward has been a consistent force on the offensive end for Notre Dame all year, so a bad game was due, but the Irish can’t afford Mooney to shoot poorly in postseason play.
The other player to keep an eye on will be freshman Nate Laszewski, who had a career-high 23 points on Saturday which included going 6-for-9 from three-point range. It was an excellent step for Laszewski as he was coming off a game where he missed a crucial free throw and responded in a significant way.
How does he handle success and can Laszewski build on Saturday’s game? If he can, it will be a bright spot to end the year for the Irish as Notre Dame desperately needs positive areas to build on during the offseason.
When it comes to knocking off Georgia Tech, it will come down to how bad Notre Dame wants to keep playing. Effort has been a question mark at times during this season and if the Irish fight, they will have a chance to advance to day two despite being offensively challenged.
Prediction: Georgia Tech 67 Notre Dame 61