Fresh off a season-defining blowout loss to No. 1 Duke, the Notre Dame men’s basketball team returns to Purcell Pavilion this Saturday for a noon clash against NC State.
The Wolfpack prove to be another tall challenge for the struggling Irish, as Will Wade’s squad boasts a 19-9 record overall with a 10-5 mark in conference play. After its 100-56 loss to the Blue Devils, Notre Dame sits at 12-16 overall and 3-12 in the ACC.
Against Duke, Notre Dame shot 36.5% from the field and 57.9% from the charity stripe. To make matters worse, the Irish were outrebounded 47-26. While they were down two superstars in junior guard Markus Burton and freshman guard Jalen Haralson, head coach Micah Shrewsberry’s injury-ridden team was poor regardless.
If Shrewsberry is to get his team back on track, sophomore guard Cole Certa needs to string together another productive afternoon. The crafty guard has progressively gotten better this season, culminating in a 43-point performance against Virginia in late January and 37-point outburst against Georgia Tech earlier this month.
Although Certa has had trouble finding consistency with efficiency from the field, there is no doubt his shifty play has provided the Irish with a boost during a tough string of losses. Confident with the ball in his hands, Certa can make something out of nothing. While he has forced shots at times, Certa has still solidified himself as Notre Dame’s leading man as of late.
Freshman forward Brady Koehler has also stepped up in the absence of Burton and Haralson. Against the Blue Devils, Koehler notched 14 points and shot 5-9 from the field.
In a rare stroke of good luck for the Irish, Haralson is expected to be healthy enough to return by Saturday’s matinee tip-off.
On the flip side of the coin, NC State comes to town as one of the best teams in the ACC. Led by first-year head coach Wade, the Wolfpack have picked up big wins over the likes of No. 18 North Carolina, Clemson and SMU. They also lost by one score to both Miami and No. 14 Kansas.
NC State’s big-time performances can largely be attributed to their potent offense. The Wolfpack have four players averaging at least 13.5 points per game. As a collective, the team is averaging 84 points per game.
At the center of NC State’s attack is senior forward Darrion Williams. After being named Mountain West Freshman of the Year at Nevada before spending two years at Texas Tech, where he was named an All Big-12 First Team selection last season, Williams has been terrific this season. The 6-foot-6 playmaker is averaging 14.2 points per game. However, his stellar offensive play has coincided with a fair bit of criticism for his lack of intensity on defense.
The criticisms of Williams’ effort on defense are reminiscent of those on NC State’s season as a whole. Despite their relative level of success this season, the Wolfpack have had their share of ups and downs. Like the Irish, the NC State are coming off a sizable loss. In their second meeting against No. 11 Virginia this season, Wade’s team fell to the Cavaliers 90-61.
With both teams coming off of tough defeats, expect to see a proper ACC scrap.
“Embrace the next opportunity. Embrace tomorrow,” Shrewsberry said after the Duke loss. “If we just keep getting chances and opportunities, we’re going to keep fighting our way to see what happens.”
Wade, meanwhile, was very blunt in his post-game press conference after the loss to Virginia.
“We got a game Saturday; we’ll be ready to play Saturday. We’ve been up and down all year, this is who we are. When we’re bad, we’re really, really bad. That’s kind of who we’ve been. We’ll get ready to play Saturday at Notre Dame.”
Although they find themselves on opposite sides of the spectrum in the ACC standings, frustration lingers on both benches.
Saturday presents the chance for both teams to pick up a much needed moral victory. Broadcast for the game can be found on The CW Network and Fubo.
