Clemson @ Notre Dame preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 20, 2018 ) Notre Dame 58, Clemson 67

Notre Dame attempts to snap a five-game losing streak in its final home game of the season as it hosts Clemson on Wednesday evening. The Tigers, meanwhile, have some work to do if they hope to make the NCAA Tournament as they’ve lost four of their last six, including Saturday’s tough loss at North Carolina.

Clemson rallied late, cutting a seven-point deficit with under four minutes left to one with 10.3 seconds remaining, but Shelton Mitchell turned it over on the final possession, giving the Tar Heels the 81-79 win. "It was tough, it was tough," coach Brad Brownell told the media after watching the video of the final possession where Mitchell dribbled into two Tar Heels defenders while driving towards the basket. Notre Dame had only itself to blame for its latest setback after missing 10-of-14 free throws in a 75-61 loss at Louisville on Sunday. "We were so bad from the foul line in the second half, and we've been overall a pretty good free throw-shooting team. If you're going to make it interesting, you've got to hit those free throws," coach Mike Brey told reporters afterward.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT CLEMSON (17-12, 7-9 ACC): The Tigers sit ninth in the ACC standings, one game behind North Carolina State, and have lost four times on the final possession in conference play. Leading scorer Marcquise Reed (19.2 points) led the Tigers with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting against the Tar Heels and is tied for third in the conference in scoring. Sophomore guard Clyde Trapp poured in 15 points, his most since Jan. 29, while senior forward Elijah Thomas added 14 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double in the past three games.

ABOUT NOTRE DAME (13-16, 3-13): Junior forward John Mooney put in another monster performance against Louisville, scoring 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting and grabbing 13 rebounds for his ACC-leading 18th double-double. The rest of the Fighting Irish, however, shot just 15-of-46 while the team was outrebounded 49-30 despite Mooney's contributions. Point guard Prentiss Hubb impressed yet again as he closes out his freshman season strongly, scoring 16 points and dishing out six assists, giving him 25 assists over his past four games.

TIP-INS

1. Notre Dame leads the all-time series 5-1 with Clemson’s lone win coming last season.

2. The Tigers and Fighting Irish are tied for 12th in the 15-team ACC with 69.7 points per game.

3. Tigers starter F David Skara missed the North Carolina game with an upper-body injury and his status for Wednesday is uncertain.

PREDICTION: Clemson 65, Notre Dame 58