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Notre Dame Basketball: Wake Forest is a Must Win For the Irish

By Noah Strackbein

Feb 5, 2017; Greensboro, NC, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Matt Farrell (5) drives to the basket past North Carolina Tar Heels guard Nate Britt (0) during the first half at Greensboro Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 5, 2017; Greensboro, NC, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Matt Farrell (5) drives to the basket past North Carolina Tar Heels guard Nate Britt (0) during the first half at Greensboro Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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With four straight losses, Notre Dame basketball can’t afford to fall to another ACC team.

Wake Forest isn’t North Carolina or Florida State. But the Irish haven’t just lost to the top ACC teams over the last four games. With Duke and Georgia Tech being two of the last four opponents Notre Dame has fallen to, it looks as though the Irish are in trouble against anyone.

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Now, Notre Dame isn’t a bad team. In fact, even though they are losing, they are still competing with some of the best teams in the country. They just can’t seem to find a victory, and that’s why they’re in this slump.

Wake Forest now becomes a must win for the Irish. After falling out of the top 25, moving to 6-5 in the ACC, and losing four straight, Notre Dame cannot afford another loss. To a team in the bottom half of the conference, this is a game that would kill the Irish’s resume.

With only seven games left in the regular season, Notre Dame would love to secure a NCAA Tournament spot heading into the conference tournament. With a few more wins, maybe adding one within the top 25 and the Irish are sitting pretty come the ACC Tournament. But losing five straight, Notre Dame enters desperation time where they need to start winning in order to become one of the biggest let downs since the mid-way point.

This game should be a breeze for Notre Dame. Bonzie Colson will have the toughest matchup against John Collins, but as the Irish’s frontcourt superstar this season, he should be able to give him one of the most difficult matchups of Collins’ season.

Outside of that, Wake Forest doesn’t have the talent to compete with Notre Dame’s studs. Once V.J. Beachem and Matt Farrell find a rhythm, the game is in the Irish’s hands.

This is one of Notre Dame’s most important games of the season. Without a victory here, the Irish enter their final stretch of games needing to win almost all of them. At this point in the season, they’re exhausted and are saving as much energy as possible for the NCAA Tournament. But without a few more wins, the Irish will find themselves in the NIT with some serious regret.

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Wake Forest is a must win. Luckily for the Irish, this game should be an easy W. They better hope anyways, because they need to turn this streak around before they find themselves in desperation time come the ACC Tournament.