Notre Dame Faces A Must-Win Against Miami

Previewing Notre Dame's matchup against Miami, which is a must win for the Fighting Irish

Notre Dame (16-10 / 7-8) got some much needed extra rest after its Monday victory over North Carolina, but the Irish are back at it tonight when they take on Miami (14-12 / 6-10) at Purcell Pavilion.

GAME INFO

Start Time: 6:00 PM (Eastern)
TV: ACC Network
Spread: Notre Dame -6.5

THE OPPONENT

Miami has been an up-and-down team all season. After getting blown out in back-to-back early games against Florida and UConn, the Hurricanes earned a big win at Illinois over a Fighting Illini squad that is a likely NCAA tournament team.

That began a five-game win streak that included a 73-68 overtime victory at Clemson, but Miami dropped nine of its next 11 games. After losing at Florida State (99-81) for a third-straight defeat, Miami bounced back with an 85-58 thrashing of Boston College. That was followed up with a convincing 71-54 win over Wake Forest and a 102-95 road win at Virginia Tech that went into three overtimes.

At times the Hurricanes have looked abysmal on the road. Miami has six blowout road losses, but it also owns road wins over Illinois, Clemson and Virginia Tech.

Diminutive point guard Chris Lykes leads Miami in scoring at 15.5 points per game. The 5-7 junior was outstanding in the road win at Virginia Tech, scoring 23 points and dishing out four assists. He went for 27 in the road win at Clemson, knocking down 10-16 shots, and he scored 28 points in the road win at Illinois.

Needless to say, slowing down Lykes will be key for the Notre Dame guards.

Freshman guard Isaiah Wong failed to reach double figures in the first 18 games of his Miami career, but his minutes have been upped in recent games and he’s responded with an outstanding stretch of basketball. Wong has averaged 17.5 points per game in the last eight games, reaching double figures in each contest. Wong went for 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the overtime victory over Virginia Tech.

Wong has knocked down 53.8% of his shots during his recent hot streak, and he’s made 12 of his 24 three-point attempts.

WHAT’S AT STAKE

This is a must-win for Notre Dame if it wants to make the NCAA tournament. Notre Dame’s tourney hopes are on life support, but the more it wins the stronger the resume becomes. A loss all but ends any chance at an at-large berth.

The Notre Dame guards must defend well in order to keep Lykes and Wong from dominating, but they need to perform well on the offensive end as well. 

Miami can score effectively at times, ranking sixth in the ACC in scoring. Its 73.2 points per game is just below the Irish average of 74.6 points per game. The Hurricanes averaged 77.2 regulation points in its last five games, but Miami struggles on defense, ranking last in the conference in points allowed (74.6). 

Notre Dame needs to attack the Miami defense and move the ball. Miami can be exploited on defense, but if the Irish aren't willing to probe the lane, attack the rim and move the ball effectively it could result in the offense stagnating, which we've seen in the last four games.

Notre Dame has averaged just 61.8 points per game in its last four contests. The rest should help, but a fast start will be key for the Irish offense.

Miami will go small at times, and when it does the Irish must pound the ball inside and attack the glass.

MIAMI

NOTRE DAME