Irish Find Focus, Grind Out Win Against Clemson

These are the types of games you’re going to have when you’re in the top AP top ten in this league, apparently. We saw it earlier this season, when the Irish needed comebacks to win at Georgia Tech and at NC State, not to mention a home win against Miami. These teams get up to play, each and every night, and it’s very unlikely that anyone will have an off night against the Irish from here on out.

Take a look at the Duke debacle last weekend. The Dukies were out for revenge, but they were coming off a win at Virginia. If there were ever a time for a let down, it would be when another top ten-team comes to town, but the Blue Devils promptly ran Notre Dame right out of the state of North Carolina.

Though the margin of loss on that one hurt, it’s still forgivable to lose at Duke. You aren’t going beat a team that shoots 61 percent, let alone one with eight McDonald’s All Americans playing at home in front of a raucous crowd like the one the Irish saw Saturday. Let’s not forget that Duke had a let down of their own in a near-loss at Florida State, a team that Notre Dame thrashed earlier this season, just two days later. You can’t convince me that he Duke team that Notre Dame saw on Saturday would lose a home rematch against a team like Miami.

With that said, a loss at Clemson to follow up the loss at Duke for the Irish would have been cause for concern, in my opinion, but thanks to some late-game heroics from none other than Jerian Grant and a few defense stops down the stretch, the Irish escaped with a victory.

It’s the kind of victory, though, that harkens me back to Brey teams of years past who have outstanding regular seasons that go to waste come tournament time. I worry that a few more losses, like the Irish are sure to get if they bring the level of intensity and focus they’ve played with in the past few games to the KFC Yum! Center on March 3rd to face Louisville, or even if they come out flat against Syracuse in the game prior to that.

The Clemson Bounce-Back: Senior Leadership

Pat Connaughton and Jerian Grant responded to the Duke loss the way you would expect, combining for 36 of the team’s 60 total points, including some big threes from Connaughton (14-6-2) and a late dagger from Grant (22-5-2). Demetrius Jackson tipped in 11, but he seems to be struggling a bit to find his game off the dribble, which is a different Jackson than we saw towards the beginning of ACC play and during the non-conference schedule. It was a defensive play that was Jackson’s biggest; he took a charge late in the game that gave the Irish the ball with the game on the line.

Zach Auguste has gone missing. Before a late lay-in against Clemson in the second half, he had been scoreless since the first half against Boston College a week ago. I think most of that is confidence. He’s been in foul trouble in the past few games and has been missing some easy ones and some free throws, and he passed up a few shots under that basket that he was finishing with regularity a few weeks ago. Hopefully the coaching staff and the senior leaders can help him turn it around, we’ll need him for the remaining schedule.

Looking Forward: The ACC Tournament, NCAA Tournament Seeding, and The Rankings

With five games remaining in the season, a two-seed in the ACC tournament is a real possibility for this team. That may be the key to advancing to the final night of the tournament, like Brey’s teams have failed to do so many times. The Irish just need to stay focused, night in and night out. They need their senior leaders and their coach to step up and snap the rest of the team out of the funk that they are in.

The Irish remained number 10 in the AP poll despite splitting with Duke, thanks in part to the margin of the loss and the loss at Pittsburgh. I did notice, however, that Joe Lunardi dropped them to a four-seed in his latest tournament “Bracketology” projections. That could easily change depending on the rest of the season, but I think the absolute ceiling for this team is a potential two-seed. This would require winning out and a run in the ACC tournament. I even question whether or not the committee might tab them for a one seed if they win out and win the tournament, but I just don’t see that happening.

I think the most likely scenario is a three-seed, and it’s too early to project what kind of success they’ll have. The fact of the matter is that they will have to get up for the five remaining games on the schedule before they head to Greensboro for the ACC tournament. It’s up to Brey, his staff, and his seniors to get the team on track and finish strong.