Wake Forest @ Notre Dame preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 19, 2019 ) Wake Forest 75, Notre Dame 68

Teams looking to get momentum turned back in the right direction prior to the calendar flipping to February meet Wednesday when Wake Forest plays an ACC game at Notre Dame. The Demon Deacons and the Fighting Irish have each lost two straight games with Wake Forest losing five of six and Notre Dame four of five, and only one will face the new month with a winning mindset.

The biggest storyline for the Fighting Irish other than trying to rack up enough wins to return to the NCAA Tournament after a two-year absence is that of TJ Gibbs, who will likely become the school's all-time leading scorer in ACC regular season games. The senior guard, who is fewer than 100 points shy of reaching 1,500 for his career, needs two points to eclipse the 739 points scored by former teammate Steve Vasturia, who needed 11 more games to reach that total. Gibbs ranks in the top five in ACC games this season in field goal percentage (52.4), 3-point shooting (48.8) and foul shooting (88.9), and has a chance to match Florida State's Al Thornton and Duke's Shane Battier as the only players to finish an ACC regular season with 50-50-80 percentages. The Demon Deacons are just trying to get healthy after falling to defending national champion Virginia in overtime Saturday without the services of their top two scorers in senior Brandon Childress, who missed the game with a lower leg injury, and junior Chaundee Brown, who sat out his sixth consecutive affair with a similar ailment.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: ACC Network

ABOUT WAKE FOREST (9-10, 2-7 ACC): The strength of the Demon Deacons is getting to the free throw line as they lead the ACC in free throw attempts per game (23.9) and are second in foul shooting (74.5), but may have trouble taking advantage of it against a Notre Dame squad that leads the nation in fewest fouls per game (12.3). Danny Manning's team nearly beat Virginia at the foul line as it made 21-of-24 with most of those coming from Andrien White (10-of-11) and Olivier Sarr (7-of-8). White, a senior guard, recorded his first career 20-point game Jan. 21 against Clemson and followed it up with another against Virginia.

ABOUT NOTRE DAME (11-8, 2-6): Dane Goodwin has been as solid a bench player as there is in the ACC this season for the Fighting Irish. The sophomore, who has been especially good in January by averaging 11.6 points, is the only player in the ACC averaging double figures in scoring with three or fewer games started. In terms of average points scored off the bench, the 6-6 guard from Ohio is ranked fourth in the league (12.1) behind Sarr (13.8), Pittsburgh's Ryan Murphy (13.3) and North Carolina State's D.J. Funderburk (12.6).

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Notre Dame's John Mooney, who is second in Division I with 15 double-doubles and had a streak of 12 straight double-doubles come to an end in Saturday's loss Florida State, is the only player averaging at least 15 points and 13 rebounds.

2. Sarr, a 7-foot junior, leads the ACC with 87 made free throws this season after making 70 combined in his first two seasons.

3. With Gibbs (3.14), Rex Pflueger (2.06) and Prentiss Hubb (1.89) leading the way, the Fighting Irish are No. 1 in Division I in assist-turnover ratio (1.77).

PREDICTION: Notre Dame 76, Wake Forest 67