Heading into the final week of the regular season, Notre Dame is guaranteed a spot among the top four seeds of next week’s Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
The Fighting Irish (21-8, 14-4) can clinch the conference’s No. 2 seed and bolster their NCAA Tournament status Wednesday night when they face Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla.
Attaining the No. 1 ACC Tournament seed is not impossible for Notre Dame, but that would require first-place Duke to lose its last two games.
The Seminoles (15-13, 8-10), meantime, do not project as an NCAA Tournament team unless they win the ACC Tournament. They need one more victory to secure a bye to the second round in the conference tournament as one of the top nine seeds.
Notre Dame, 17-3 since a loss to Indiana on Dec. 18, blew out Georgia Tech on Saturday, 90-56, as Dane Goodwin scored 17 points and Blake Wesley 15.
The Fighting Irish are looking for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017.
“I think we are in an amazingly strong position,” coach Mike Brey said. “We’ve missed it. I’ve missed it, and quite frankly, I’ve been miserable missing it. I fake it good when I run into you guys.”
Meanwhile, even though Florida State is a longshot to make the NCAA Tournament, it enjoyed a March Madness-like moment Saturday at Virginia, emerging with a dramatic 64-63 victory.
The Seminoles triumphed on Matthew Cleveland’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer, which came off a perfect three-quarters-court pass from Harrison Prieto, who threw it from his own baseline.
Florida State desperately needed a positive jolt after losing eight of its previous nine games.
“I didn’t know it was good,” Cleveland said. “Got the pass, turned, shot it. I either knew it was good or it was long. Glad it went in.”
Cleveland has been carrying the load offensively for a wounded Seminoles squad, which has been missing three regular starters, including leading scorer Caleb Mills (12.7 points per game).
Cleveland has scored in double figures in seven consecutive games, including 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting against the Cavaliers. His game-winner was his lone 3-pointer made in the game.
–Field Level Media
