Notre Dame @ Boston College preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 12, 2019 ) Boston College 66, Notre Dame 69

Two of the ACC’s basement dwellers look for something positive to build off of Saturday afternoon as Notre Dame visits Boston College for the second meeting this season between these two teams. The Fighting Irish earned their only conference victory so far this season with a home win over the Eagles on Jan. 12.

John Mooney had a career-high 27 points and added 12 rebounds as Notre Dame eked out a 69-66 victory three weeks ago where the Irish used just six players due to injuries and illnesses. Since then, Notre Dame has dropped five straight, including an 83-61 blowout loss at home against No. 2 Duke on Monday. Junior guard Ky Bowman poured in 24 points and 16 rebounds, while forward Nik Popovic added 15 points in the loss in South Bend, Ind. BC has split four games since but is coming off a 77-71 home loss to Syracuse on Wednesday.

TV: 2 p.m. ET, ACC Network

ABOUT NOTRE DAME (11-10, 1-7 ACC): Mooney (14.4 points, 10.8 boards) did his thing against the Blue Devils, tallying 14 points and 11 rebounds for his seventh straight double-double, but it came on just 4-of-15 shooting from the field. The entire Notre Dame squad is struggling from the floor of late as the Irish shot just 34.8 percent Monday and 36.1 percent against Virginia in its previous game. Coach Mike Brey saw some positives to take away from Monday's loss, however, telling reporters after the game that he liked “how we competed against (Duke) tonight” after being disappointed in his squad’s effort against the Cavaliers two days earlier.

ABOUT BOSTON COLLEGE (11-8, 2-5): The Eagles had no answer for Syracuse’s Tyus Battle as he scored 31 points, including 21 in the second half. BC really struggled in defending the perimeter as the Orange knocked down 11-of-26 3-point attempts, including four from Battle and three from Buddy Boeheim. Bowman, who is third in ACC scoring (20.5 points), scored 21 on Wednesday, as did senior guard Jordan Chatman.

TIP-INS

1. Notre Dame leads the all-time series 22-10 and owns a 12-game winning streak against the Eagles.

2. Mooney is the only player in the nation averaging at least 10 points and 10 rebounds while shooting better than 40 percent from 3-point range (44.7).

3. The Eagles had just 25 rebounds on Wednesday and are averaging 36.7 on the season (tied for eighth in the ACC).

PREDICTION: Boston College 76, Notre Dame 70