What to know about Notre Dame vs. Wake Forest in ACC Tournament
When Notre Dame last played Wake Forest, the Demon Deacons were desperate for a win. Now, in large part due to the result of that game, the stakes are even higher head coach Steve Forbes and company.
The Irish dispatched the Deacs 70-65 on Feb. 27, starting a three-game losing streak for Wake Forest that put it on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble. That’s where it remains entering Wednesday’s matchup with Notre Dame in the second round of the ACC Tournament, with both teams hoping to extend their season another day.
Notre Dame is here because it beat Georgia Tech 84-80 on Tuesday, winning a conference tournament game for the first time since 2021.
“They’re a talented team,” Irish head coach Micah Shrewsberry said after the win. “They’re an explosive team. When you have three guards that can all score it, but you have two good big guys, they kind of put you in a bind a little bit.
“We’ve got to get back and start preparing and figure out what we need to do to have success against them.”
Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup.
Notre Dame at Wake Forest game information
- Teams: No. 12 Notre Dame (13-19, 8-13 ACC) and No. 5 Wake Forest (19-12, 11-9 ACC)
- Date: Wednesday, March 13
- Location: Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
- Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
- Television: ESPN
- TV announcers: Dan Shulman (play-by-play) and Jay Bilas (analyst)
- Radio: 960 WSBT-AM in South Bend
- Radio announcer: Tony Simeone
Matchup notables
• Junior guard Hunter Sallis, a transfer from Gonzaga, leads the Demon Deacons with 18.2 points per game. He was rightly named first-team All-ACC and finished second for Most Improved Player, receiving 18 votes to Clemson junior forward Ian Schieffelin‘s 30.
• Sallis struggled against the Irish, though, scoring only 7 points and shooting 2-for-11 from the field. Notre Dame sophomore forward Tae Davis guarded him for most of the game and, for the most part, shut him down. Kevin “Boopie” Miller led Wake with 16 points against the Irish on Feb. 27. He’s the second of those three guards who can score, while the third is British junior Cameron Hildreth at 13.5 points per game.
• In the frontcourt, senior forward Andrew Carr and junior forward Efton Reid III pose a challenge for anyone. Reid, another Gonzaga transfer standing at 7-foot, is the Demon Deacons’ leading rebounder at 7.9 per game. Carr is more of a scorer, averaging 13.3 points, but he can also crash the glass (6.4 rebounds per game).
• Speaking of Davis, his defense on Sallis will be huge once again and he’s on a streak of six-straight games with 11 or more points. He’s become the dynamic, consistent two-way player the Irish hoped he would be in the season’s final stretch.
• Notre Dame freshman guard Braeden Shrewsberry set the program record for points by a freshman in an ACC Tournament debut with 23 on Tuesday against Georgia Tech. Fellow freshman guard Markus Burton is No. 2 with 21. The young backcourt duo responded brilliantly to the big stage in Washington, D.C.
