ACC Basketball power rankings: UNC, Wake Forest rises while Pitt drops
14. Notre Dame Fighting Irish – 9-11 (1-8)
The biggest headline for the Irish certainly didn’t come on the court, since they keep losing there anyways. But rather, it was the huge announcement that head coach Mike Brey will be retiring after the season. He’s spent 22 years at Notre Dame, winning 481 total games and making the NCAA Tournament 13 times.
Brey has been fantastic for the team but it does feel like it’s time to step aside. The announcement came after an 84-71 loss to Florida State on Wednesday. Marcus Hammond led the team with 19 points off the bench, while Trey Wertz chipped in with 15 points and five assists.
After the Brey news, you’d think the Irish veterans would have an inspiring performance, knowing that these are the last games for the head coach. But instead, they came out flat against Boston College and allowed 48 second-half points for an 84-72 loss. Nate Laszewski had 29 points and seven rebounds, while both Cormack Ryan and Dane Goodwin each had 13.
Notre Dame hopes to end its three-game skid soon but has a couple of opportunities this week. The first in on the road at NC State potentially without its best player in Terquavion Smith, before coming back home to take on a team even worse than them in the winless in ACC play, Louisville Cardinals.