No. 7 NOTRE DAME (19-12) vs. No. 10 BOSTON COLLEGE (13-18)
What: ACC Tournament Second Round
Where: Greensboro Coliseum Complex (23,000), Greensboro, N.C.
Time/TV/Internet: Today (7:00 p.m., EST); Available on ESPN2, UND.com, Sirius/XM Radio Channel 989
Line: Notre Dame -9 (141 over/under)
Prediction: Notre Dame 70, BC 66
Game Notes Links: Boston College … Notre Dame
ACC Tournament Bracket: Link is here
Series Facts: For the third time this season, Notre Dame will lace ‘em up to take on Boston College in a series the Irish have dominated for the last 20 years, save for about three months ago when BC as a 13-point underdog pulled a 73-72 upset of the Irish at Purcell Pavilion.
Until that defeat last December, Notre Dame had won 17 of 18 games in this Holy War since 1999, including 13 in a row. Notre Dame exacted some revenge in Chestnut Hill, Mass., about two weeks ago when Irish senior guard T.J. Gibbs hit a buzzer-beating floater that secured a 62-61 Notre Dame win.
Remarkably, these two teams played 12 games against each other as Big East members and have played 12 times as ACC foes, but they’ve never met in a conference tournament game until today.
Overall, Notre Dame is 22-11 in the series.
NOTRE DAME OVERVIEW
The only way into the NCAA Tournament for Notre Dame is to win the ACC Tournament, or prepare for its second NIT appearance in the last three seasons with a no-appearance sandwiched in between.
By applying lessons learned from many close games this season against the top conference teams, Irish head coach Mike Brey believes his team is equipped to make a deep run in this tournament.
Notre Dame played four games in the regular season against the top-three seeds in this tournament — No. 1 Florida State (twice), No. 2 Virginia and No. 3 Louisville — and lost those four games by a total of seven points, all four of those not decided until the final possession.
BC OVERVIEW
Given the circumstances of how this season played out, and that the Eagles are again at essentially full health, the BC faithful think a deep tourney run could be in the cards in the same way the Notre Dame fanbase believes.
Despite finishing 7-13 in league play, BC was .500 in the conference well into February and on track to have its best-ever league finish before a rash of injuries sidetracked its mission.
Playing with a patchwork rotation while the team slowly returned to full health, the Eagles finished the regular season with five consecutive losses.
GAME OUTLOOK
There is something about the ACC Tournament that has brought out the best in Notre Dame over its first six appearances.
The Irish are 9-5 in this event since joining the league in 2013-14, it has played in the title game twice, won it in 2015, and only once has it lost in an opening-round game. That was in 2014, its first season in the ACC.
Even last year, the Irish limped into the ACC Championship on a seven-game losing streak — and with only three league wins all season — and still managed a 78-71 first-round win over Georgia Tech.
The winner of tonight’s game will play Virginia Thursday at 7 p.m., a Cavaliers team Notre Dame had on the ropes on Feb. 11 and probably should’ve beat before falling 50-49 in Charlottesville, Va.
Boston College split its two regular-season games with Virginia.
QUICK HITS
*The Irish went 4-7 this season in regular-season games decided by three points or fewer, including a split of two one-point games with Boston College.
*The ACC field, especially in the middle of the pack, became bunched and unpredictable this season. Only three games separated teams No. 5 through No. 12 in the final standings.
*Because of a postseason penalty issued to, and eventually accepted by Georgia Tech, the Yellow Jackets won’t participate and this ACC Tournament featured 14 teams instead of its full 15-member allotment.
QUOTEABLE: “I like our team. I like our group. We’ve had some heartbreakers but we love playing together. They’re coachable, let’s go down there and see what happens.” — Brey on heading to Greensboro with nothing to lose.
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