Notre Dame Basketball: Welcome to the ACC Championship
After proving everyone wrong, Notre Dame basketball takes on Duke in the 2017 ACC Championship.
After their win over Florida State, Notre Dame heads to the ACC Championship with a shot to claim their second conference title in the last three years. Behind Bonzie Colson and their seniors, the Fighting Irish pulled off the season series win over FSU.
Now, Notre Dame heads to the ACC title against Duke, looking to prove their doubters wrong and bring another conference championship back to South Bend. For Duke, their upset win over North Carolina gives them a lot of momentum heading into the game, but against the Irish, they’ll need everything they’ve got.
When it comes to matchups in the ACC, Matt Farrell and Grayson Allen may be the most exciting fans will see all season. Both players are the backcourt superstars of their team, and when they hit, their team is nearly unstoppable. So far, that’s been the case, and it’s shown as they two teams have shown their dominance in the ACC.
Down low, as always, Colson is the go-to man. There isn’t another player in the conference performing as well as he has this season. Averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds, this 6’5 big man is proving size doesn’t matter in the best conference in basketball. As Duke’s post game is lead by one man, this will be a showdown between two of the top forwards in the country.
At the end of this one, the winner will be decided by effort. Both of these teams play an offense-first style of play. It won’t be which single player has the better game because everyone on both rosters is going to show out.
This will come down to who has more heart. Luckily, Notre Dame has more heart than anyone in the country. A team full of players no one knows, who have proven the entire world wrong.
Prediction: Notre Dame wins 92-88.
The Fighting Irish have done something no one expected them to do. There’s no reason to believe they aren’t going to do it again. Behind their Steve Vasturia and V.J. Beachem, Notre Dame is going to come out looking to continue their underdog run.
Duke has a team full of all-stars, but if they get shut down early, they don’t have the drive to get back into games. Notre Dame may not have the players to keep a lead for the entire 40 minutes, but they can put out more effort than the Blue Devils. In March, that means more than any level of talent.
Next: Jake Forrester Talks Notre Dame
The Irish walk out of today ACC champions. Their run to glory continues after today, but their first stop is leaving Brooklyn as conference champions.