Two years to the day that now No. 7 Notre Dame (14-2, 2-1 ACC) lost its lone ACC game in its first three years in the league, it returns to the scene of the crime to play No. 14 Miami (13-2, 2-1) at the Watsco (formerly BankUnited) Center in Coral Gables, Florida. The game will be telecast by ESPN2 at 3 p.m.
Miami 's lone defeats were to No. 19 Kentucky in the season-opener and at home to No. 7 Florida State on Dec. 29. The Hurricanes have picked up ranked wins this year at No. 9 Ohio State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and, in their last outing, at No. 23 NC State — where ND lost, 70-62, its second ACC game in four years (58-2 overall, including ACC Tourney) — on Thursday night.
Five Miami players are averaging at least 8.9 points per game, led by preseason all-ACC pick Adrienne Motley at 12.6 and Jessica Thomas at 12.5. Motley led the upset of ND two years ago by scoring 32 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the floor. In last year's two meetings with the Irish, though, Motley was only 3-of-13 from three.
An Achilles heel for Notre Dame of late has been its perimeter defense and finding three-point shooters in both transition and half-court, too often losing players off ball screens. Miami is one of the best in the nation in that area, with four different players converting at least 21 treys while shooting at a .383 clip beyond the arc as a team.
Notre Dame claimed both meetings with Miami last season. The irish beat the Hurricanes, 90-69, at Purcell Pavilion on Feb. 14. The teams met again in the ACC semifinals on March 5 and Notre Dame claimed an 78-67 victory en route to the league title.
2016 alumna Michaela Mabrey is in her first year as the Hurricanes’ coordinator of program and player development. The older sister of Irish sophomore starter Marina Mabrey, Michaela was a two-year team captain and a prolific shooter, ranking fourth in school history in career 3-pointers (228) and fifth in career 3-point percentage (.396).
After a rare opportunity to defend its home court Thursday (doing so successfully against Wake Forest), Notre Dame finds itself back on the road for Sunday’s game at Miami. The game is part of a stretch in which the Irish will play 10 out of 12 games away from the comforts of Purcell Pavilion.
The preseason No. 1, Notre Dame has not played as a Final Four caliber team this year while being spotty on both offense and defense. The bench also has not been as strong (as of yet) as expected with injuries to freshman guard Jackie Young (wrist and ankle) that have slowed her development, and health ailments to redshirt freshman guard Ali Patberg. The individual talent is as strong as it's ever been, but the team chemistry on the court has been a work in progress. A win on the road versus a quality, veteran top-15 operation such as Miami would go a ways to put it back on a Final Four track. This has the makings of a loss if the Irish are off.
Prediction: ND 66, Miami 63
Miami 's lone defeats were to No. 19 Kentucky in the season-opener and at home to No. 7 Florida State on Dec. 29. The Hurricanes have picked up ranked wins this year at No. 9 Ohio State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and, in their last outing, at No. 23 NC State — where ND lost, 70-62, its second ACC game in four years (58-2 overall, including ACC Tourney) — on Thursday night.
Five Miami players are averaging at least 8.9 points per game, led by preseason all-ACC pick Adrienne Motley at 12.6 and Jessica Thomas at 12.5. Motley led the upset of ND two years ago by scoring 32 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the floor. In last year's two meetings with the Irish, though, Motley was only 3-of-13 from three.
An Achilles heel for Notre Dame of late has been its perimeter defense and finding three-point shooters in both transition and half-court, too often losing players off ball screens. Miami is one of the best in the nation in that area, with four different players converting at least 21 treys while shooting at a .383 clip beyond the arc as a team.
Notre Dame claimed both meetings with Miami last season. The irish beat the Hurricanes, 90-69, at Purcell Pavilion on Feb. 14. The teams met again in the ACC semifinals on March 5 and Notre Dame claimed an 78-67 victory en route to the league title.
2016 alumna Michaela Mabrey is in her first year as the Hurricanes’ coordinator of program and player development. The older sister of Irish sophomore starter Marina Mabrey, Michaela was a two-year team captain and a prolific shooter, ranking fourth in school history in career 3-pointers (228) and fifth in career 3-point percentage (.396).
After a rare opportunity to defend its home court Thursday (doing so successfully against Wake Forest), Notre Dame finds itself back on the road for Sunday’s game at Miami. The game is part of a stretch in which the Irish will play 10 out of 12 games away from the comforts of Purcell Pavilion.
The preseason No. 1, Notre Dame has not played as a Final Four caliber team this year while being spotty on both offense and defense. The bench also has not been as strong (as of yet) as expected with injuries to freshman guard Jackie Young (wrist and ankle) that have slowed her development, and health ailments to redshirt freshman guard Ali Patberg. The individual talent is as strong as it's ever been, but the team chemistry on the court has been a work in progress. A win on the road versus a quality, veteran top-15 operation such as Miami would go a ways to put it back on a Final Four track. This has the makings of a loss if the Irish are off.
Prediction: ND 66, Miami 63
