Advertisement
basketball Edit

Hoops Preview: Clemson at Notre Dame

Don’t miss out on any of our exclusive football, basketball and recruiting coverage. Click here to get your 30-day free trial!

CLEMSON (11-3, 1-1 ACC) at NOTRE DAME (13-2, 2-0)

Where: Purcell Pavilion (9,149)

Rankings: Notre Dame is ranked No. 23 in the country by the Associated Press; Clemson is unranked.

Time/TV: 3 p.m./ESPNU

Matchup History: Saturday’s matchup is the fifth all-time meeting between Notre Dame and Clemson. The Irish have won the previous four meetings.

Mike Brey and the Irish are off to a 2-0 start in league play.
Mike Brey and the Irish are off to a 2-0 start in league play. (Joe Raymond)
Advertisement

Notre Dame Notes

The Irish have come out unscathed through two games in the wild Atlantic Coast Conference, getting a road win over Pittsburgh and a home victory over No. 9 Louisville on Wednesday.

A 3-0 start? That would go a long way toward the Notre Dame NCAA Tournament resume.

“I told our guys, ‘Let’s be greedy men,’” head coach Mike Brey said. “We’re 2-0 in this league.”

The strong start has made the losses to No. 1 Villanova and No. 15 Purdue — games in which the Irish held double-digit leads — easier to swallow. A victory over Clemson on Saturday would erase those losses altogether.

“Then we’re even,” Brey joked. “We get that one, then we’re back to even.”

Notre Dame and No. 12 Florida State are the only two ACC teams to begin the conference schedule 2-0.

“If we could get to 3-0 in this league, then we get a break before we go on the road, it would be unbelievable,” Brey said. “I talked to them about when we went to Brooklyn to play in the Legends (Classic), I said, ‘a week to make a move,’ and we did. We talked about this week as a week to make a move. We get the third one, we’ve made a heck of a move here in early January.”

After facing Clemson, Notre Dame has four days off before a road game at unranked Miami. Two days later, the Irish are on the road at No. 21 Virginia Tech.

According to Kempom.com, Notre Dame is ranked 26th in the country while Clemson is ranked 23rd. The Irish have done it with strong offense — KenPom has Notre Dame’s adjusted offensive efficiency at eighth-best in the nation.

Notre Dame will try and get senior wing V.J. Beachem going against the Tigers. Beachem scored just two points and did not attempt a shot in the first half during Wednesday’s win over Louisville.

Brey, though, isn’t all that worried about Beachem’s slump.

“We ran a couple things for him,” Brey said of the wing, who is averaging just 4.0 points and 2.5 rebounds during ACC play. “He got the one (at the beginning of the second half) and another good look. You know again, with him, I thought he helped us move. You look at his stats, but he’s that senior presence out there that helps us flow and it’ll come back to him.

“The worst thing to do right now would be to over-analyze him. He needs to get right back on the horse on Saturday and keep playing, and it could be his day on Saturday afternoon.”

Matt Farrell — Averaging a team-high 5.3 assists this season.

Steve Vasturia — Had a career-high 24 points in Wednesday’s win over Louisville.

V.J. Beachem — Had just two points against the Cardinals.

Bonzie Colson — Averaging 16.7 points and 10.7 rebounds for the Irish.

Martinas Geben — Did not score against Louisville.

Clemson is led by Brad Brownell. The Tigers are 11-3 overall and 1-1 in the ACC.
Clemson is led by Brad Brownell. The Tigers are 11-3 overall and 1-1 in the ACC. (USA Today Sports)

Clemson Overview

Clemson, which finished 17-14 (10-8 in the ACC) last season, travels to South Bend on Saturday to take on its second straight ranked opponent. The Tigers fell 89-86 in overtime to No. 14 North Carolina on Tuesday.

The Tigers average 78.3 points per game (60th nationally) and allow 66.1 (53rd).

Head coach Brad Brownell’s team leans on the play of 6-foot-7 senior wing Jaron Blossomgame. Blossomgame is averaging 17.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game for the Tigers, and has been particularly legal during his career against the Irish.

In last year’s matchup, Blossomgame scored 30 points on 13-of-19 shooting in an 89-83 victory at Clemson. Blossomgame has shot 30-48 (.625) in his career against the Irish.

Only two other Clemson players are averaging double-figures: 6-2 fifth-year senior guard Avry Holmes is averaging 11.4 points and 6-3 sophomore guard Marcquise Reed is averaging 10.9 points while coming off the bench.

Clemson, though it is unranked, has played well against top competition. Through Jan. 5, the Tigers were leading the country in wins over top-50 RPI teams with five. Baylor, Creighton, Florida State and Villanova also had five top-50 RPI wins.

Other Clemson notes…

• Clemson is committing just 14.9 fouls a game, which ranks third nationally, and opponents are averaging just 12.4 foul shots a game. This is particularly noteworthy after the Irish attempted 25 foul shots (making 22) in Wednesday’s win over Louisville.

• The Tigers are not much of a 3-point shooting team, ranking 169th in the country in 3-point percentage (34.8).

• Neither team is especially strong on the glass. Clemson ranks 292nd in the country in defensive rebounds per game (24.3) and Notre Dame ranks 121st at 26.7.

Outlook

With the exception of Beachem, Notre Dame's offense is clicking two games into league play. Look for that to continue against the Tigers, with Notre Dame's guards controlling the tempo. Though the Tigers have the ability to pull off the road upset, the Irish have the senior leadership and toughness to grind out the victory.

Prediction: Notre Dame 81, Clemson 77

Vegas Spread: N/A

----

Talk about it inside Rockne’s Roundtable

Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.

• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @BGI_LouSomogyi, @BGI_CoachD,

@BGI_MattJones, @BGI_DMcKinney and @BGI_CoreyBodden.

• Like us on Facebook.

Advertisement