Notre Dame @ Miami preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 19, 2018 ) Miami-Florida 77, Notre Dame 74

Two teams struggling for conference wins meet on Wednesday evening when Notre Dame visits Miami. The Fighting Irish are coming off just their second ACC win of the season, while the Hurricanes have lost five in a row and eight of nine.

If there is one thing Notre Dame has this year it is Boston College’s number as the Fighting Irish beat the Eagles for the second time this season on Saturday. "We needed a win," coach Mike Brey told the media after the 79-73 win. "Our group was a little wounded out last weekend, so maybe we can build on it." Miami’s most recent setback came on Saturday where the Hurricanes were solid in their own end but just couldn’t make shots against one of the best defensive teams in the country in Virginia. "We did a pretty good job defensively. We were just not able to make, I think, some very makeable shots," Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga told reporters after the 56-46 loss.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT NOTRE DAME (12-10, 2-7 ACC): Junior guard Nikola Djogo, a reserve averaging just 10.3 minutes, scored a team-high and career-high 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-6 from long range in his first start of the season against BC. The Irish scored more than 61 points for the first time in two weeks by shooting 52.9 percent from the floor and 50 percent from the 3-point line. TJ Gibbs added 19 for his highest scoring game since Jan. 1 while John Mooney added 15 points and 13 rebounds for his eighth consecutive double-double.

ABOUT MIAMI (9-12, 1-8): The Hurricanes held the Cavaliers to their lowest scoring game since Nov. 23 but weren’t able to do enough offensively, shooting just 34 percent from the floor and 4-of-21 from downtown. Sophomore guard Chris Lykes led the way in scoring with 16 on 5-of-13 shooting, while Zach Johnson and Sam Waardenburg each added 10. The Hurricanes got dominated on the glass by Virginia as the Cavaliers grabbed 42 rebounds, including 12 on the offensive glass, to Miami’s 24.

TIP-INS

1. The all-time series is tied 11-11, with Miami earning a 77-74 win in South Bend last season.

2. Mooney is the only player in the country averaging 10-plus points, 10-plus rebounds and shooting better than .450 from 3-point range.

3. Don’t expect many fouls in this game — Notre Dame commits the fewest fouls in the nation (13.5) while Miami commits the seventh-fewest (14.4).

PREDICTION: Notre Dame 70, Miami 67