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Notre Dame Basketball: Here We Go Again

By Noah Strackbein

Feb 11, 2017; South Bend, IN, USA; Florida State Seminoles guard Dwayne Bacon (4) shoots as Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Steve Vasturia (32) defends in the second half at the Purcell Pavilion. Notre Dame won 84-72. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 11, 2017; South Bend, IN, USA; Florida State Seminoles guard Dwayne Bacon (4) shoots as Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Steve Vasturia (32) defends in the second half at the Purcell Pavilion. Notre Dame won 84-72. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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Notre Dame basketball takes on Florida State for the third time this season in the semifinal of the 2017 ACC Tournament.

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Splitting the season series 1-1, both Notre Dame and FSU come into this game with a chance to prove they are the superior and earn an opportunity to play in the ACC Championship. As the two vs three seed in the conference, neither of these two have the upper hand.

As the two teams looking right outside the top of the conference, they will be battling for a shot to prove they deserved to be number one whether their record showed it or not. Although North Carolina was the clear deserving member of the top ACC spot, Notre Dame and FSU were right behind fighting for their chance at the regular season title.

Well, now, these two have a shot to play for a chance to win the actual championship. As ACC Tournament Champions, either one of these two will be looking at a bump in NCAA Tournament seeding. Possibly as high as a number three or four seed come Sunday.

Like usual, Notre Dame’s success comes through Bonzie Colson. Colson has had to shut down every talented big man in the ACC this season. Unfortunately, for him, there’s one on just about every team in the conference. Jonathan Isaac has been a force all season but put him on a stage like this, and he becomes even more dangerous.

Isaac’s 11 points and 12 rebounds against Virginia Tech is nearly as impressive as Colson’s 21 points and 12 rebounds against Virginia. Both forwards were on the top of the game, and major contributors to their team’s success. Against each other, it’s pretty clear that the winner in the post adds a significant advantage to the winner of the game.

In the backcourt, as always, the leader of Notre Dame will be Matt Farrell. A big night from V.J. Beachem and Steve Vasturia would be a major boost for the Irish, but to start, they’ll be leaning on the junior point guard. As the second-leading scorer with 14 points against Virginia, Farrell will be looked at to keep this Irish team calm in the face of adversity. It’s highly doubtful that this is going to be another blowout for Notre Dame.

Virginia is nowhere near the team they were at the beginning and even the halfway point in the season. Florida State may not be having the final stretch of games they had hoped for, but they are coming off an impressive win over Virginia Tech. At this point in the season, carrying momentum is just as, if not more, important than how well you’ve played three or four games prior.

Prediction: Notre Dame wins 83-75.

Notre Dame is hot right now. When it comes to any game in March, momentum is just as important as your last game or current streak. Florida State did pull off the win against VT, but the way Notre Dame won will carry more into this next matchup.

Florida State isn’t the dominate team they were the first time they beat the Irish. Notre Dame has discovered their secret to success, and it’s carrying them towards an ACC title. It won’t be an easy win over the Seminoles, but when they click they’ll be able to pull it off.

Next: Irish Looking Ahead to Florida State

It’s going to come down to which star outside of Colson and Isaac can outperform in the backcourt. These two will battle down low, but when it comes to the backcourt, one of these two teams will need to have someone step up. If you had to guess, Matt Farrell is the best bet to have a winning performance.

When he gets started and can carry this team, Notre Dame will have enough options to send them to the ACC Championship.