Notre Dame basketball: 3 takeaways from the 76-61 victory at Clemson
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame basketball team dominated Clemson on Saturday night, thanks to a stellar performance from true freshman star Blake Wesley.
Another game, another victory for the Notre Dame basketball team, which continues to be one of the hottest teams in the country. True freshman star Blake Wesley went nuts to start the game, scoring 18 points on 6-of-6 shooting to start, including four three-pointers, as the Irish got out to an insurmountable lead.
Coming into the game as an underdog per WynnBet, the Irish made it be known early on who the better team was, and would go on to cruise to one of their easiest victories in recent memory. They have now won 14 of their last 17 games, are in first place in the ACC, and look like a team that could be a single-digit seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Notre Dame basketball: 3 takeaways from the 76-61 victory at Clemson
No. 1: Blake Wesley is finding his groove
A few or so ago, star Blake Wesley was struggling to find his shot, was forcing three-pointers, and just could not buy a bucket. However, he has been finding his groove in terms of his shot as of late, and he made everyone in the building know who the Alpha was in this one, scoring 18 points early on.
Wesley has now shot better than 50% from the field in his last three games, and his 21 points on Saturday were the most he has scored in a game since the win against NC State on January 22.
No. 2: This team is deep
One thing that is going to make a difference for this team come ACC Tournament time, as well as in March Madness is how deep they are. On any night, any player in the starting five can go off for 20-plus points, and they also have some instant offense that comes off the bench.
In this one, Wesley and Dane Goodwin both went for over 20 points, and Cormac Ryan added 13 more. If they can continue to spread the ball around the way they have been, and get good play down low from Paul Atkinson Jr., they are going to be a hard out come tournament time.
No. 3: No longer a bubble team
For a while, the Irish struggled to be mentioned in the AP top-25 poll, as well as the national bracketology, where the NCAA Tournament teams are predicted. After going from not being listed in the top teams for the tournament, to being on the bubble, the Irish are now firmly in a position to be possibly a single-digit seed.
The days of being a bubble team are over, and now Brey needs to get his team ready to make a serious run.
Overall, the Notre Dame basketball team is perfectly set up to make a real run in the NCAA Tournament, thanks to their depth and experience. Mike Brey has his team playing at a very high level right now, and it seems that any team that stands in their path is in big trouble as we head towards March.