Can Notre Dame slow down No. 7 Duke?
Duke is riding a six-game win streak with Notre Dame coming to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday.
The question is: Do the Irish have enough firepower to stop the suddenly red hot Blue Devils? After dropping consecutive ACC games in January, Duke (21-3, 11-2) has been on a tear and is one game behind Louisville in the conference standings.
“It’s hard not to pay attention to that stuff,” Blue Devils’ guard Jordan Goldwire said. “It’s always in the back of our head, but we just try to focus on one game at a time and not look at the standings.”
The Irish (15-9, 6-7) back into this contest coming off a 50-49 overtime loss to Virginia on Tuesday. Before that, Notre Dame had some momentum going, winning four in a row in ACC play before they faced the Cavaliers.
But the Blue Devils own a five-game win streak over the Irish and are 8-1 against Notre Dame in Durham. Duke has had some time to recover, after playing two highly emotional games last weekend. The Blue Devils have been off five days, giving them time to recover ahead of Notre Dame coming to town.
“We played back-to-back games in 48 hours, so to get the rest was very important to us,” Goldwire told the media on Friday. “We’re all feeling rejuvenated and ready to play.”
DUKE VS. NOTRE DAME
Duke and Notre Dame will meet for the 33rd time on Saturday. The Blue Devils lead the series, 25-7. Since joining the ACC, the Irish have beaten Duke five times. Of Duke’s five straight wins in the series, two have come in the ACC Tournament.
“They are a well-coached team,” Goldwire said. “They don’t turn the ball over a lot. They are a very good team.”
Top scorers
Notre Dame senior John Mooney leads the Irish in scoring, averaging 16.3 points per game. Duke freshman Vernon Carey leads the Blue Devils in scoring at 17.5 points per outing.
Double Up
Mooney and Carey are also double-double machines when they step on the floor. Mooney (20 double-doubles) and Carey (12) lead the ACC in that category. Mooney is the only player in the league to average a double-double. To go along with his 16.3 points, he also averages 13.0 rebounds a game. Carey’s 12 are tied for most by a freshman in the country.
“He’s a walking double-double,” Goldwire said about the freshman center. “He’s grown each game. He just comes to play every game. Being a freshman seeing a double team is probably not fun, but he tries to make the right reads.”
Keeping it close
Win or lose, Notre Dame keeps their games interesting. The Irish have played in 11 consecutive games that have been decided by 10 points or less. Eight of those outcomes have been by five points or less. If the game stays close late, Notre Dame will feel right at home.
Notre Dame at Duke
4 p.m. Cameron Indoor Stadium
TV: ESPN
Radio: Blue Devil Sports Network
This story was originally published February 14, 2020 at 1:47 PM.
