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ACC Basketball power rankings: Florida State takes top spot as Duke tumbles

By Michael Walton

SUNRISE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 21: Head coach Leonard Hamilton of the Florida State Seminoles looks on against the South Florida Bulls during the second half of the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic at BB&T Center on December 21, 2019 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
SUNRISE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 21: Head coach Leonard Hamilton of the Florida State Seminoles looks on against the South Florida Bulls during the second half of the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic at BB&T Center on December 21, 2019 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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COLLEGE PARK, MD – DECEMBER 04: Head coach Mike Brey of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /

443. . 11-6 (2-4). . Fighting Irish . 9. team

Mike Brey has done a great job with this year’s Notre Dame team. The Fighting Irish have wins on the road over Syracuse and Georgia Tech over their last five games. They have two consecutive losses by a combined eight points to NC State and Louisville. Notre Dame has been led by their offense, with guard Prentiss Hubb grabbing the reins. Hubb scored 22 points against Syracuse and 25 against Georgia Tech, both wins. Senior forward John Mooney has been perhaps the most consistent player, a double-double machine.  Mooney is averaging 15.4 points and 13.9 rebounds per game.

Mooney has struggled shooting as of late but his defensive contributions have been huge for a team that often struggles on that side of the ball. He has nine blocks and seven steals over his last five games, a remarkable stretch of defensive box score productivity. Notre Dame would also be nowhere without Mooney’s rebounding. In a 3-point loss to  Louisville, Mooney had 15 points and a whopping 19 rebounds.

The Fighting Irish are much better when Hubb and Mooney are playing well, and both have been dominating in recent games. TJ Gibb has joined in on the scoring fun, averaging 18.3 points per game over the last three Notre Dame wins. On January 22 Notre Dame gets a chance to get the season sweep of Syracuse before their first game against Florida State on January 25. The Fighting Irish are 2-5 in the ACC, 0.5 games back of Pitt and Clemson. If the have an upset win in them, Notre Dame could put together a nice stretch of wins after having trouble getting three wins in a row this so far this season.