Notre Dame knows that if it wants to win the national championship, it will have to beat the best of the best. That includes NC State, its opponent in the Sweet 16 and the top seed in the Bridgeport Regional. The Irish already defeated the Wolfpack once this season, so you better believe the Wolfpack will be more focused on this matchup than ever. If you look at the below chart, that’s not great news for the Irish:
Look how highly the Wolfpack rank in a bunch of these categories. As good as the Irish are in their own right and consequently have been able to match up well with other opponents, it’s no wonder they celebrated so much after winning the teams’ previous meeting. With the intensity taken up another level in the NCAA Tournament, the Irish will have even more work cut out for them than before. A lot will need to go right for the recent past to repeat itself.
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