Notre Dame has to do a lot to prove it can stick with ACC competition. Having lost its first two conference games, confidence in this group is not exactly high. Still, it’s capable of doing good things, which were on display in a 59-43 win over Jacksonville to snap a three-game losing streak. It was not a bad way to end the nonconference portion of the season.
The Irish (8-5) had a rough first half, trailing for much of it and shooting only 9 of 31 (.290) from the field, including 2 of 16 from 3-point range. The struggles continued well into the second half, but they finally found their groove as they went on a 15-2 run to take a nine-point lead. That was as close as the Dolphins (7-4) would be the rest of the way as their field goal to stop that run with 7:31 to play was their last for the game.
[autotag]Marcus Hammond[/autotag] came off the bench to score a game-high 15 points for his performance with the Irish so far. [autotag]Dane Goodwin[/autotag] and [autotag]JJ Starling[/autotag] had identical shooting nights of 5 for 12 while scoring 12 and 11 points respectively. All three of the above players tied for the team lead with three assists, and Starling led the Irish with eight rebounds. As a whole, the Irish did perhaps their most damage with points off turnovers, holding a 17-5 advantage there.
Make no mistake: This was an ugly game that the Irish easily could have let slip away as has been the case throughout the nonconference schedule and the early part of the ACC schedule. Shooting 40.3% from the field won’t cut it against the best teams in the conference, and [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] appears to still be figuring out the right regular lineup for his patented seven-man rotation. That shouldn’t be the case at this point in the season, but here we are.
The big boys will be coming for the Irish soon enough, and no one is going to feel sorry for them if they’re unprepared. A strong conference showing is a must, especially in another down season for the ACC, which has no top-10 teams right now. If something is to happen for this Irish team, it would help to have an upset Friday against No. 14 Miami.
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