MEN'S HOOPS - Notre Dame vs. Clemson Preview
NOTRE DAME (14-8; 5-6 ACC) vs. CLEMSON (11-11; 5-7)
Where: Littlejohn Coliseum (9,000), Clemson, S.C.
Time/TV/Internet: Today (6:00 p.m., EST); Available on the ACC Network, UND.com, Sirius/XM Radio Channel 989
Line: Clemson -1.5 (137.5 over/under)
Prediction: Notre Dame 70, Clemson 69
Game Note Links: Clemson … Notre Dame
ACC Standings: Link is here
Series Facts: A relatively short-standing series that includes only seven meetings to date, the Irish have won five of the seven in a series that dates back to only 2013-14 when the Irish joined the ACC.
After losing the first five games to Notre Dame, Clemson has won the previous two, including a 64-62 win at Purcell Pavilion last season in the only meeting between these two in 2018-19.
The Irish are 2-1 all-time at Littlejohn Coliseum.
NOTRE DAME OVERVIEW
The secret to Notre Dame’s recent success — a three-game winning streak and four wins in its previous six games — has been its ability to score the basketball.
The Irish have averaged 82.3 points in their last six outings, which has lifted Notre Dame to second in scoring in ACC games at 77.4 points per outing.
Somewhat surprisingly, Notre Dame’s 80-72 win Wednesday over Pittsburgh marked the first time the Irish have scored at least 80 points in five straight ACC games.
Even more startling, given the high-octane offenses Irish coach Mike Brey built his program on, Notre Dame hadn’t scored 80 points or more five straight times in conference play since 2007-08 when it was a member of the Big East.
Improved team scoring during conference play has brought some residual individual statistical success.
Senior Irish guard T.J. Gibbs has scored in double figures in all 11 league games and ranks third among ACC players in conference scoring at 17.7 points per game. Senior forward John Mooney is fourth at 17.6 points per game.
CLEMSON OVERVIEW
The highlight of the season for the Tigers came in January when they beat No. 3 Duke, 79-72, for the first win over an AP top-three opponent in 19 years.
Statistically speaking, the Clemson profile provides very little for Notre Dame to be overly concerned about, again, at least on paper.
Clemson ranks in the bottom half of the 15-team ACC of nearly every statistical category, while Notre Dame has steadily climbed its way toward the top of the league in several.
Perhaps the two most notable stats: Notre Dame is 2nd in league game scoring at 77.4 ppg while Clemson is 13th at 63.8 ppg. The Irish are 2nd in free-throw percentage (.780) while Clemson is 14th (.618), with almost identical attempts.
GAME OUTLOOK
*With five league wins, Notre Dame has already surpassed the three ACC victories it notched all of last season.
But beyond that, today provides a chance to win a fourth straight conference game for the first time since it recorded six consecutive in February of 2017.
*With two ACC road wins this season — Syracuse and Georgia Tech — Notre Dame has played well away from Purcell Pavilion. That said, Clemson has been stingy at Littlejohn Coliseum this season, going 9-4 overall and 4-2 in ACC play, including four straight victories at home.
QUICK HITS
*With 12 points per game off the bench, Irish sophomore Dane Goodwin leads all major conference players in substitutional scoring and is sixth among all Division I players.
*Add the 14.5 points per game from Irish sophomore guard Prentiss Hubb to the scoring success of Gibbs and Mooney, and Notre Dame has three players ranked in the top-15 scoring in ACC games, the most of any team in the league.
*Like Notre Dame, Clemson has been bitten by the injury bug this season. Various Tiger players — including three starters — have missed 56 total games because of injury.
QUOTEABLE: “It’s a group that feels good about themselves. We know it’s a huge challenge. We kept it at one game segments here at home, we got all three of them. If you look at this whole package through North Carolina, it can be daunting.” — Brey on the difficult task of playing at Clemson, at Virginia, at No. 7 Duke and home against North Carolina in the span of nine days.
----
• 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_MikeSinger, @CoachDeDario and @AndrewMentock.
• Like us on Facebook.