Florida State @ Notre Dame preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 25, 2020 ) Notre Dame 84, Florida State 85

Florida State's ACC regular-season title hopes took a hit Saturday when the eighth-ranked Seminoles suffered a last-second, 70-69 loss at Clemson that dropped them to second place in the conference, a half-game behind Louisville, the team they beat one game earlier to take over the top spot. The Seminoles will aim to get back on track in the league race and earn a sweep of Notre Dame when the schools battle Wednesday night on the Irish's homecourt.

"We're trying to keep this in perspective," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton told reporters. "We can't start getting excited about where we are now." Where they are now is challenging for their first-ever ACC regular-season championship although they failed to take control of the conference last time out thanks to a lackluster second-half stretch against Clemson that kept the Tigers in the game and allowed them to run the length of the court for the winning shot with a second left. Notre Dame also comes off a disappointing loss, falling to Wake Forest 84-73 Saturday to halt a three-game winning streak, and the Irish desperately need a victory over the Seminoles to give their NCAA Tournament resume a boost. Still, the Irish have never lost to the Seminoles at Purcell Pavilion (3-0) and they came within one point (85-84) and a missed off-balance shot at the buzzer of defeating them in January.

TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN2

ABOUT FLORIDA STATE (24-5, 14-4 ACC): Sophomore forward Wyatt Wilkes came up big with 19 points in the first meeting with the Irish but for the season, the Seminoles offense has been paced by Devin Vassell (12.9 points per game) and Trent Forrest (11.7), who had a team-high 14 and 11 points, respectively, against Clemson. Fellow guard M.J. Walker (10.4) is also averaging in double figures, with Patrick Williams right behind at 9.4, but depth continues to play a huge role in the team's success, with 10 players averaging at least 10 minutes of play and seven averaging at least 6.0 points a game. The Seminoles only hit 37.5 percent of their shots in the second half against Clemson (9-of-24), way off their mark of 45.9 percent for the season - second best in the ACC - and the 46.2 percent they shot against Notre Dame in the first meeting.

ABOUT NOTRE DAME (18-11, 9-9): The main man for the Irish is forward John Mooney, who is averaging team highs of 16.8 points and 12.8 rebounds per game, and he is coming off his 24th double-double of the season as he rang up 24 points and 17 boards against Wake Forest. With that performance, Mooney is now tied with Tim Duncan for the single-season record of 15 double-doubles in ACC play. The Irish top the nation in fewest turnovers (276) and fewest per game (9.5), with their best effort coming last time out as they turned the ball over a season-low four times.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Florida State owns a 6-4 series advantage and the Seminoles are aiming for their first season sweep of the Irish.

2. The Seminoles have won a school-record 14 ACC regular-season games.

3. Prentiss Hubb (11.8 points per game), Notre Dame's third-leading scorer for the season, topped the Irish with 24 points in the first meeting with the Seminoles.

PREDICTION: Florida State 77, Notre Dame 67