We don’t know what position Notre Dame will be in come Selection Sunday in two months. What we do know is this team is rolling, and there are games that seem much easier than others. Wednesday was one of those games as Clemson never had a chance in a 72-56 Irish victory at Purcell Pavilion.
The Irish (10-5, 4-1) got off to a fast start and never looked back in their sixth straight win. Once the lead was extended to double digits with nine minutes left in the first half, that’s where it stayed. The second half was a mere formality as the Tigers (10-6, 2-3) were too far behind to make any serious comeback attempt. It was such a dominant effort that Mike Brey, whose effort to draw students to this game appeared to have paid off, decided to sub in several end-of-bench guys for the final minute.
Dane Goodwin scored 21 points for the second time this season on 8-of-10 shooting to lead all scorers. Blake Wesley added 20, meaning he has scored at least that many points in back-to-back games. Not since Chris Thomas in 2002 have the Irish had a freshman accomplish that. Nate Laszewski had eight points to go with a game-high eight rebounds.