It will be a long road for Notre Dame if it wants to make a Cinderella run in Greensboro, North Carolina, and win the ACC Tournament. That road begins Tuesday when the 11th-seeded Irish take on 14th-seeded Wake Forest. When the Irish (10-14, 7-11) hosted the Demon Deacons (6-15, 3-15) on Groundhog Day at Purcell Pavilion, they put together one of their most dominant wins of the season, 79-58. The question is whether they can repeat that feat in a win-or-go-home situation.
In the recent past, the Irish have done very well in their conference tournament openers, winning 11 of their past 12. Discounting first-round byes, Mike Brey has failed to win his first game in a conference tournament only four times as Notre Dame coach. Strictly based on that, it’s very likely the Irish will advance to face North Carolina in the second round.
Juwan Durham will be the player to watch for the Irish as he cruised against the Deacons last time. He had a line of 18 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and two assists. He also shot 7 of 9 from the field. Knowing any game from here on out could be his last with Notre Dame, he’ll do everything he can to delay the inevitable.
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