Tag: 2015 notre dame basketball

Notre Dame’s last true road game of season is at Florida State

The Irish still have hope for the top ACC spot.

Although Notre Dame is only one game back of Duke for the top seed in the ACC Tournament, it will need some help to claim it. With the Blue Devils owning the tiebreaker, the Irish need them to lose their next two games while also winning their own upcoming two games. Otherwise, the second seed is the best they can do. They can at least maintain that spot with a win over Florida State in their final time playing on an opponent’s home court this season.

If the Irish win this or their home finale against Pittsburgh, they will have 15 victories in ACC play. That would set a program record for most conference wins since they joined the Big East for the 1995-96 season. Their current mark of 14 has been reached four times, including this year. Before that, it most recently happened during their 32-win 2014-15 campaign in which they came so close to making their second Final Four.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

 

Notre Dame looks to stay atop ACC standings against Clemson

Let’s keep this winning going, shall we?

Who would have thought Notre Dame would be tied with Duke atop the ACC standings approaching the middle of February? Well, you better believe these programs have identical 10-3 conference records as tall an order as that might be. The Irish can hold onto that distinction if they beat Clemson in their next game. The first game between the teams went the Irish’s way, but can they repeat on the road what they did at home?

The Irish are tied for their best start to ACC play since their first of back-to-back Elite Eight seasons in 2014-15. One player key to keeping the good times going is Paul Atkinson Jr., who is averaging 16.6 points and 10.8 rebounds over the past three games. As a whole, the Irish need to keep relying on their defense, which has held the past six conference opponents to 65 points or fewer. That’s the best such streak for the Irish since they joined the ACC for the 2013-14 season.

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Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame was Butler’s first opponent inside Hinkle Fieldhouse

The historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on Butler’s campus turned 93 years old Sunday. What does this possibly have to do with Notre Dame?

The historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on Butler’s campus turned 93 years old Sunday. What does this possibly have to do with Notre Dame? Well, somebody had to be Butler’s first opponent in the building, and it just so happened to be the Irish, then the defending national champions. In a final score that would have been seen as a defensive struggle even at that time, the Irish suffered a 21-13 loss in overtime.

Notre Dame has an all-time record of 28-17 at Hinkle Fieldhouse, although it hasn’t played there since 1995. In fact, the Irish and Bulldogs only have met on two occasions in the years since: The 2006 NIT Season Tip-Off at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Although the programs take part in the annual Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis, they never play each other so that Indiana and Purdue can save their matchup or matchups for the Big Ten season. Hopefully, this in-state rivalry can be revived to some degree in the not-too-distant future as there is a lot of potential here.

Pat Connaughton, Bonzie Colson stick up for Mike Brey

As Notre Dame slogs to the end of a disappointing season, calls for Mike Brey’s dismissal are growing.

As Notre Dame slogs to the end of a disappointing season, calls for Mike Brey’s dismissal are growing. The latest such campaign occurred at the end of the Irish’s loss to NC State on Wednesday. With a limited number of students allowed inside Purcell Pavilion for the first time all year, that group did not waste its opportunity to be heard. In response to this and restlessness from others in the fan base, former Irish standouts Pat Connaughton and Bonzie Colson both took to Twitter to back the coach who took them to the Elite Eight during happier times for the program:

I’m not going to pretend Brey has been infallible over the past few years, but he’s been put in a very tough spot. When you have a roster with very little depth and not enough talent at the top, a season like this is inevitable. The question is whether Jack Swarbrick trusts Brey enough to give him a chance to climb out of this whole next season. At least he can take solace in the fact that two of the better players he’s coached are publicly defending his honor.

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