The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will take on the Florida State Seminoles in an ACC basketball tournament semifinal match-up.
TV Schedule: Friday, March 10, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN
Arena: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
Prediction: Florida State 78, Notre Dame 77
Florida State and Notre Dame are both coming into Friday night’s semifinals fresh off impressive quarterfinal performances.
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The Seminoles were neck-and-neck with Virginia Tech in the first half before flexing their muscles on the interior, in transition and with their length and physical play defensively. They went on to defeat the Hokies by six, but the game was not as close as the score indicates.
Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish dominated Virginia from tip to finish, scoring the second-most points against the Cavaliers Pack-Line this season (71). The Irish’s offense was crisp and superb as they only turned the ball over eight times and shot a stellar 52 percent from the field.
Now the Irish and Seminoles will square off with the winner getting the opportunity to not only play either Duke or North Carolina on Saturday but a chance to capture the ACC Tournament title.
While the Irish have an excellent offense and have four talented veterans in Matt Farrell, Bonzie Colson, V.J. Beachem and Steve Vasturia, it’s Florida State that has the upper hand.
Why? Because of their significant size advantage.
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They aren’t just bigger and stronger up front but they possess more physical guards who attack the glass relentlessly. ND could use their smaller lineup, where they play the 6’5″ Colson at the five, in their favor but Florida State has enough versatility and athleticism to match up well on both ends. And if the ‘Noles are starting to get back to their roots defensively, this is bad news for the Irish and the upcoming opponents that FSU will face as March rolls along.