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What to know about Notre Dame men’s basketball vs. Clemson

IMG_7504by: Jack Soble03/02/24jacksoble56
PJ Hall
Clemson forward PJ Hall. (Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports)

On Tuesday, Notre Dame men’s basketball did something unprecedented. For the first time in the 2023-24 season, the Irish picked up a Quad 1 win.

Defined as a win over a team ranked No. 1 through No. 30 in the NET at home, 1-50 on a neutral site and 1-75 on the road, Quad 1 victories are lynchpins of a team’s resumé for the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame is obviously not making that this season, but the Irish beat a team who might in Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons are No. 27 in the NET, and Notre Dame upset them 70-65 at home.

The Irish have a chance to earn a second Quad 1 win at 7:45 p.m. ET on Saturday when they take on Clemson in South Bend. The Tigers are ranked No. 23 in the NET, and ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi currently projects them as a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Here’s everything you need to know about Saturday night’s matchup.

Notre Dame vs. Clemson game information

  • Teams: Notre Dame (11-17, 6-11 Atlantic Coast Conference) vs. Clemson (20-8, 10-7 ACC)
  • Date: Saturday, March 2
  • Location: Purcell Pavilion in South Bend
  • Time: 7:45 p.m. ET
  • Television: The CW
  • Radio: 960 WSBT-AM in South Bend
  • Radio announcer: Tony Simeone

Matchup notables

• Much like Wake Forest, Clemson features one of the ACC’s best scorers. Six-foot-10 senior center P.J. Hall averages 18.5 points per game, which ranks third in the conference behind only UNC’s RJ Davis and Syracuse’s Judah Mintz. For what it’s worth, Demon Deacons junior guard Hunter Sallis was third before the Irish held him to just 7 points Saturday.

• Hall grabs 7.0 rebounds per game as well, which ranks 11th in the league.

• Notre Dame has faced a few elite big men, with mixed results. The Irish did quite well in two meetings with Duke’s Kyle Filipowski, holding him to four field goals on 21 attempts combined. However, Miami’s Norchad Omier dominated Notre Dame on Jan. 24. In the non-conference slate, Marquette’s Oso Ighodaro scored 20 on 6-of-8 shooting. Auburn’s Johni Broome went 7 of 11 and put up 15, although the Irish were without sophomore forward Kebba Njie at the time.

• Njie will likely take Hall, as he usually handles the opponent’s center. That should leave sophomore forward Tae Davis, who guards the opponent’s best player if he’s not a center, to take Clemson senior guard Joseph Girard III. Girard scores 15 points per game and shoots an excellent 43 percent from beyond the arc.

• Bi-weekly Markus Burton update: After scoring a career-high 31 against Wake Forest, the Notre Dame freshman guard would cement his fourth ACC Rookie of the Week Award with a strong outing against Clemson. That would tie him with Pittsburgh’s Carlton Carrington for most in the conference and strengthen his case for ACC Rookie of the Year.

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