In a season many are considering a down one for the ACC, two programs trying to stand tall are about to meet in South Bend. Notre Dame (9-5, 3-1), which has won six of its past seven games, will host a Clemson (10-5, 2-2) team that has achieved five victories in its previous six contests. Whoever loses this matchup could have its momentum derailed, and that’s the last thing anyone in this conference needs this season.
As they have several times this season, the Irish will turn to phenom Blake Wesley, who was just named ACC Freshman of the Week for the second time. At an even 200 points, he’s the first true Irish freshman to achieve that feat since Chris Thomas during the 2001-02 season. While the Irish have a projected lottery pick in this year’s NBA draft, the Tigers don’t have anyone ready to make the jump to basketball’s highest level. In this and many other games for the rest of the this season, that could prove to be a crucial advantage.