Hoops Preview: No. 23 Notre Dame At Wake Forest
NOTRE DAME (18-8, 9-5 ACC) VS. WAKE FOREST (11-16, 2-13 ACC)
Where: Joel Coliseum in Winston Salem, N.C.
Rankings: The Irish are ranked 23rd in the Associated Press poll.
Time/TV: 9 p.m. ET on RSN.
Last Meeting: This is the sixth meeting between the two programs, with Notre Dame trailing 2-3 in the series. The Irish won the last meeting 85-62 in South Bend Jan. 31.
Notre Dame Notes
The Irish are coming off a heartbreaking 63-62 loss at Georgia Tech Feb. 20. Mike Brey's squad trailed by seven at halftime, but methodically fought back to take as much as a six-point lead at 60-54 with less than five minutes to play.
But the Yellow Jackets from that stage on ended the game on a 9-2 run, punctuated by a bucket from Marcus Georges-Hunt with one second to play that put Georgia Tech ahead for good.
The loss relegated Notre Dame's recently added goal of winning the ACC regular season back on the backburner, although the Irish are not completely eliminated from the race. For example, North Carolina is one of the frontrunners, and the Tar Heels still have to play at Virginia and at Duke to close out their regular season.
Still, the primary focus has shifted from winning the regular season to securing a double bye in the ACC Tournament. Notre Dame and Duke are tied for fifth in the league standings, and the top four teams receive the double bye — but the Irish own the tiebreaker with Duke after beating Mike Krzyzewski’s squad 95-91 Jan. 16, and Louisville (currently third) won’t play in the tournament due to a self-imposed postseason ban.
So Notre Dame’s stretch run to securing that bye begins with at Wake Forest on Wednesday night. The Deacons announced Feb. 19 that Devin Thomas — the team’s leading scorer and rebounder — would be suspended two games for a violation of team rules. He’ll serve the back half of that suspension by sitting out against the Irish.
Notre Dame could also be without senior forward Zach Auguste, who hyperextended his knee late in the loss to the Yellow Jackets. The big man did not practice on Monday, and Brey said he was “hopeful” to have him for Wednesday’s game.
“They’re a scary bunch,” Brey said of the Deacons. “They play fast, they can score it, and they’ve got size and athletic ability.
“I think they’ve found a new vibe. I thought there was a new energy and excitement with the nucleus that started [against Boston College].”
Demetrius Jackson — Leading the team in scoring (16.4 points), assists (4.9) and steals (1.4) per game.
Steve Vasturia — Averaging a team-high 35.9 minutes per game.
V.J. Beachem — Has made 64 of 148 three-point attempts (43.2 percent) this season.
Bonzie Colson — Ranked as Notre Dame's most efficient offensive starter of the season thus far on KenPom.com.
Zach Auguste — Averaging a double-double with 14.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game.
Wake Forest Overview
Interestingly, Wake Forest showed no ill effects of losing Thomas against Boston College Feb. 21. The Deacons led 41-14 at halftime before cruising to a 74-48 win.
Other than Sunday’s win over the Eagles, the Deacons have struggled mightily through conference play this season. Their only other ACC win is a three-point victory over North Carolina State Jan. 10.
They’re ranked No. 124 nationally on KenPom.com, which squeezes them between Belmont at No. 123 and Pepperdine at No. 125. Danny Manning’s squad ranks 113th in the country in offensive efficiency and 169th on the defensive side of the ball.
One of Wake Forest’s identity stats is a fast tempo, which may have actually played a big part in hurting them in their earlier season matchup against the Irish. The Deacons rank 46th nationally in average possessions per game played (72.4), and they tried desperately to speed the game up against Notre Dame Jan. 31 — but that led to some out of control fast breaks, and Wake Forest turned the ball over 18 times in spite of the Irish ranking 327th in the country in forcing turnovers.
The Deacons actually do a good job getting to the free throw line, ranking 17th nationally in free throw rate. So, a couple keys for the Irish could be keeping Wake Forest off the stripe and controlling the tempo.
Outlook
Road games in the toughest conference in the country are never easy. Prior to the Thomas suspension news, this had the makeup of a game that Notre Dame maybe didn’t have to play its best to win, but it certainly couldn’t afford to tank.
With Thomas out now, one would think this game should be much easier. Then again, the status of Auguste is questionable, and could Thomas’ exit from the lineup create an “addition by subtraction” spark for the Deacons?
Prediction: Notre Dame 85, Wake Forest 76.
Vegas Spread: Notre Dame by 7.5.