Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
No Notre Dame players are on this list.
We are halfway through February, and time is running out for ACC teams to make a move. If they haven’t made an impression on the selection committee yet, they better do it very soon, as in starting this coming week. Here are the players most likely to make strong cases for their teams:
Still nothing to show for a good effort.
To Notre Dame’s credit, it was about as good an effort as it’s shown on the road this season. But like every other game away from Purcell Pavilion, a victory just wasn’t meant to be. This time, it was NC State reaping the benefits, and the Irish will head home after an 85-82 loss.
During the first half, the Irish (9-12, 1-9) turned an 11-point deficit into a seven-point lead. The Wolfpack (16-5, 6-4) cut that lead to three before halftime, then went in front themselves early in the second half, which was a dogfight. While there wasn’t really any one moment that doomed the Irish, they couldn’t convert on a number of good looks or open shots to make a close game even closer or, in some cases, to tie it up. It also did not help that they were crushed in the turnover battle, 15-2.
Jarkel Joiner was the Wolfpack’s big player with 28 points and six rebounds. Terquavion Smith, the ACC’s scoring leader who fresh off a serious injury scare Saturday at North Carolina, had 17 points to go with six assists. D.J. Burns Jr. scored 14, and Casey Morsell added 11.
[autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag] and [autotag]JJ Starling[/autotag] paced the Irish with 19 and 18 points, respectively. [autotag]Marcus Hammond[/autotag] had a nice stats line of 11 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. [autotag]Dane Goodwin[/autotag] also scored 11, and [autotag]Ven Allen-Lubin[/autotag] added 10 off the bench.
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One Notre Dame player is on the list.
As we enter the final full week of January, we continue to be impressed by those leading the bunch in the ACC. While we don’t know where their teams will be at the end of February, they should at least factor into their respective teams’ seeding in the ACC Tournament. Here are the statistical leaders at this point in the season:
One Notre Dame player on the list.
With the ACC having reached the midway point of January, we’re at somewhat of a benchmark for the season. While there is plenty of time for new faces to emerge atop the main statistical leaderboards, it would help if those new faces made their move sooner rather than later. For now though, here’s who stands out:
No Notre Dame players on the list.
With ACC play having entered full swing, we now can take a look at the best in the conference. Some teams have more statistical leaders than others, but most have none at all. When these players’ teams come up on the schedule, opponents really will want to pay attention:
No Notre Dame representation this week.
We are in the New Year, and that means we’ve reached another benchmark in the ACC season. With the calendar having flipped, the players teams most have to prepare for really are starting to emerge if they hadn’t already. Here are the statistical leaders as enter the first week of 2023:
One Notre Dame representative on this list.
Christmas is over, which means ACC teams finally can look forward to the conference schedule in earnest. Now is the time for teams to size up the players they most have to plan for. Here they are, at least as far as statistical leaders:
One Notre Dame player is on this list.
As the ACC heads towards Christmas, teams are getting one final look at what they have before the holiday. It’s the least that can happen as conference play gets ready to take over for the rest of the season. Here are the conference players currently standing out statistically:
Notre Dame has one player on this list.
ACC play is underway, at least partially. While we we’ll have to wait a few more weeks to see conference teams going at it on a nightly basis, if this past weekend was any indication, there is some thrilling basketball in store. Here’s who leads the conference in the major categories after that preview:
The Irish take down the defending national champs in epic fashion!
Notre Dame might have gotten the 2020 ACC Tournament victory it needed to earn an at-large spot in March Madness, and in an epic way. Facing an uphill battle in the quarterfinals against No. 2 seed and defending national champion Virginia, the Irish needed everything they had to pull off the upset. It was enough to celebrate an 80-79 win in overtime.
Notre Dame set the tone for this game early, beginning it on a 12-2 run. Virginia rallied to tie the game at 17, but the Irish caught fire again, going on a 21-4 run to take a 17-point lead with two-and-a-half minutes left in the first half. That paved the way for a 10-point advantage. However, that was only the beginning.
The Irish continue to hold the lead during the second half, answering every Cavaliers run. They were up, 68-62, with 22 seconds left in regulation, but John Mooney missed the front end of a one-and-one, allowing Casey Morsell to cut it to 68-65 on a 3 with six seconds left. Dane Goodwin was fouled with three seconds remaining, but he also missed the first shot of a one-and-one. That allowed Mamadi Diakite to grab the rebound and launch a prayer from three-quarter court at the buzzer — and hit it, tying the score to force overtime and send the Greensboro Coliseum into a frenzy.
The teams traded leads in overtime and even were deadlocked a few times before Braxton Key made a 3 to give the Cavaliers a 79-76 lead with 39 seconds left. Mooney cut the deficit to 79-78 with a free-throw line jumper, then rebounded a missed one-and-one before clanking the go-ahead jumper and being forced to foul Kihei Clark with 10 seconds to go. Clark also missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Juwan Durham got the rebound. Durham had just enough time to go the length of the court, put up a finger roll and watch the ball go through the hoop as time expired, making his teammates and the Irish contingent of fans in attendance go absolutely bonkers.
Mooney was the big player for the Irish, leading them with 28 points, 14 rebounds and three steals. Prentiss Hubb scored 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and dished out seven assists. Durham flirted with a double-double with a line of 10 points and eight rebounds. Rex Pflueger established his own presence with 10 boards.
Diakite achieved a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers before fouling out in overtime. Jay Huff nearly joined the double-double club with 16 points and nine rebounds. Clark did the same in finishing with 11 points and a game-high nine assists, as did Key with nine points and 11 boards. Tomas Woldetensae scored 12 points, all of which came on 3-pointers.
