One of the toughest teams early on this season was the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, starting out strong and undefeated in ACC play. Just a month or so later, the Irish looked like a completely different team and found themselves on a four game losing streak heading into Tuesday night.
On Wednesday, it didn’t look to good at home against Wake Forest, finding themselves down 41-36 at halftime. However, the Irish offense came alive in the second half, scoring 52 points and winning 88-81 to improve to 7-5 in the ACC and 18-7 overall.
Can the Notre Dame continue to get back on track?
Looking down the stretch, the Fighting Irish face only two Top 25 teams in Florida State and Louisville in the season finale. They also face Boston College, NC State, Georgia Tech, and Boston College again in their other four games, all teams that remain in the bottom half of the conference.
During their four game losing streak, Notre Dame averaged only 66 points per game (12 points below their season average), while defensively, the Irish struggled to defend. On Wednesday, the Irish got back on track offensively, hitting 13 three-pointers and shooting nearly 50 percent from the field.
But there are still some reasons for concerns. Even though the Irish came away with the win, rebounding margin still continues to be an issue for the Irish, as Wake Forest had 17 offensive rebounds and had 11 more shot attempts than Notre Dame. Notre Dame also had 12 blocks in the win, a number that the Irish won’t match on an often occasion.
Against North Carolina, similar numbers on the boards helped the Tar Heels secure the win, while against Duke, the Blue Devil big men played exceptionally well in efforts to secure the road win.
The Irish will have a stiff test against the depth and height of Florida State, but will have very winnable game against four of the lower-tier teams in the ACC. If the Irish can get back to their winning ways both offensively and defensively, the Irish could be back near the top of the conference, winning double-digit conference wins heading into the ACC and NCAA Tournament.
