Hoops Preview: Notre Dame Vs. Wake Forest
NOTRE DAME (14-6, 5-3 ACC) VS. WAKE FOREST (10-10, 1-7 ACC)
Where: Purcell Pavilion in Notre Dame, Ind.
Rankings: The Irish are ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press poll; the Deacons are unranked.
Time/TV: 1 p.m. ET on the ACC Network.
Last Meeting: This is the fifth matchup between the two programs. Wake Forest leads the all-time series 3-1, but Notre Dame won the last meeting 88-75 in South Bend on Feb. 17, 2015.
Notre Dame Notes
The Irish are coming off an 81-66 loss at Syracuse Jan. 28; a contest where they hardly challenged beyond the outset. After Notre Dame grabbed a 5-0 lead in the first two minutes, it was all Orange the rest of the night, with Syracuse maintaining a double-digit lead that sometimes ballooned to 20 points or more for the remainder of the game.
It was a disappointing defeat not in that the Irish fell — prior to the game, they had won four straight in the ACC — but in the fashion of the loss.
Now Mike Brey’s squad will try to get back on track against the Demon Deacons on Sunday to try and notch one more win before a brutal stretch of schedule starts in February. Six of Notre Dame’s seven games in February come against teams ranked among the top 60 nationally on KenPom.com, including three contests against teams in the top 10.
They’ll try to secure the win Sunday with the status of star guard Demetrius Jackson still up in the air. The junior pulled his hamstring before the first media timeout in a Jan. 23 contest against Boston College, and he sat out the loss against Syracuse as Brey tries to be careful with a “tricky” injury before Notre Dame’s tough scheduling begins.
On Friday, the head coach noted Jackson was improving each day, but they’ll continue to evaluate him before giving him a green light for Sunday.
“They really play fast,” Brey said of Wake Forest. “Transition defense will be a key.
“I know they’re league record says 1-7, but I think we’re going to play the team Sunday who beat Indiana — we didn't beat Indiana last time I checked — beat UCLA and beat LSU on the road. They have played very well away from their building, and then had some tough luck in their building. They can really score it, and they have a big guy down low we’ve had a hard time dealing with in [Devin] Thomas.”
Steve Vasturia — Averaging 35.4 minutes per game, which is the most on the team.
Rex Pflueger — Contributed six assists, two rebounds and two points at Syracuse in his first career start.
V.J. Beachem — Made 49 of 112 three-point attempts (43.8 percent) so far this season.
Bonzie Colson — Finished with 10 rebounds and nine points against the Orange after returning to the starting lineup for the first time in four games.
Zach Auguste — Averaging a double-double with 13.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.
Wake Forest Overview
The Deacons are coming off a surprisingly narrow 72-71 home defeat to Virginia, resulting in their fifth straight conference loss.
They check in at 116th nationally on KenPom.com, which ranks them ahead of only Boston College (255th) in the ACC. They’ve shown potential at times this year though in notching a few wins as Brey noted, in addition to an 88-85 victory over Arkansas Dec. 4.
Danny Manning’s squad hasn’t established any significant identities on either side of the ball so far this year. They rank 95th in the country in offensive efficiency and 165th in defense, and are pretty middle of the road in a large number of statistical categories.
If there’s two areas that do stick out, it’s getting to the charity stripe and offensive rebounding. Wake Forest ranks 11th nationally in free throw attempt rate and 52nd in offensive rebounding rate, led by senior forward Devin Thomas’ 10.2 rebounds per game.
Outlook
As long as there’s no carryover from Notre Dame’s frustrations on Thursday against Syracuse, this is one the Irish should be able to win even if Jackson has to sit. Although, the game could be closer than many might assume if his presence is missing.
Prediction: Notre Dame 80, Wake Forest 72