Notre Dame Basketball Quick Preview: Irish VS NC State Wolfpack

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish desperately need a win. Obviously, the season is pretty much a wash, but it doesn’t have to be so sad and depressing in every game left. Per usual, Notre Dame will have size issues when they go down to Raleigh to take on the NC State Wolfpack, but can Cormac Ryan, Dane Goodwin, and Marcus Hammond provide enough outside fireworks to make a run at a win?

The Wolfpack is a team that can score a lot of points, so the key might be for Notre Dame to slow it down — but they have really struggled in running the offense this season, so I’m not sure if it matters. Personally — I’d love to see Dom Campbell, Ven-Allen Lubin, and Nate Laszewski out on the court at the same time just to mix it up.

Notre Dame is on the verge of having one of its worst seasons in recent memory with a record of 9-11 and 1-8 in ACC play. It’s hard to get excited about seeing the same thing game after game.

ODDS

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Irish are 8 point underdogs against NC State with an OVER/UNDER of 143.5.

NC STATE WOLFPACK

Head Coach: Kevin Keats (6th season)
Season Record: 15-5 (5-4 ACC)
Key Players: G Jarkel Joiner (16.3 ppg), G Casey Morsell (12.9 ppg)
Quick Overview: I don’t know the exact status of Terquavion Smith. The exceptional sophomore guard is averaging over 18 points a game for NCST, but was sent to the hospital by UNC’s Leaky Black with a flagrant foul. If he plays — how much does he have? If he doesn’t — who makes up for his production? Outside of that loss to UNC, the Wolfpack are having a pretty good season, and could make some real postseason noise.

WHEN, WHERE, AND HOW TO WATCH

When: Tuesday, January 24, 7:00 PM EST
Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
How to Watch: ACC Network

GAME THREAD

The game thread is open below. I know many of us are on Twitter for most of the game, but I encourage you to vent and do other things that require more than 280 characters here.