NC State men’s basketball improved to 12-9 on Sunday following a home victory against Pittsburgh Sunday, Feb. 28. The win was NC State’s second victory over the Panthers on the year and was the eighth ACC win of the season for the Pack. 

Now sitting at 8-8 in the conference, NC State has a great opportunity to achieve above .500 in the ACC against the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. The game, which is scheduled for Wednesday, March 3 at 7 p.m. in South Bend, Indiana, will be the first meeting of these two teams this year.

NC State is coming into this matchup on a four-game win streak against ACC opponents, including a massive upset against then-No. 15 UVA. After losing its main offensive threat, the Pack has wasted no time filling in the gaps left behind by redshirt senior guard Devon Daniel’s departure from the lineup. Multiple players have been key contributors to this Wolfpack win streak.

Among those key contributors includes junior forward Jericole Hellems, who was especially valuable in the Pack’s latest win over Pitt. Hellems finished the game with a double-double, consisting of 15 points and 10 rebounds. Slated to be the “two” to Daniels’ “one” in the “one-two combo” NC State was hoping to rely on earlier in the season, Hellems has been adequate in his fulfillment of the “one” role.

That combo has expanded beyond a two-player connection recently, with players such as freshman guard combo Cam Hayes and Shakeel Moore, redshirt sophomore forward Manny Bates and redshirt senior D.J. Funderburk rounding out the attack for the Pack. Contributions from each of these players on a nightly basis have led to such a strong second half for the Pack’s February schedule.

As for Notre Dame, its 9-13, 6-10 ACC record certainly isn’t one to write home about. However, looking only at the overall record doesn’t quite tell the entire story of this team’s season, as the Irish have not had as easy of a schedule as it would’ve liked. 

A loss to Michigan State in its season opener set the tone for the year to come for the Fighting Irish, who have suffered multiple losses to quality opponents. Among that list includes Ohio State, Duke, UVA, Louisville and Virginia Tech. ACC schedules tend to be some of the most difficult in the country on a yearly basis, but ND was cut no slack with its out-of-conference matchups on top of the mandatory ACC games.

Notre Dame’s most recent game resulted in a 90-94 loss to Boston College Saturday, Feb. 27. A game that Notre Dame was expected to win given BC’s atrocious 4-13, 2-9 ACC record ended in tragedy for the Irish, who were lit up from beyond the arc. Boston College outshot Notre Dame 47.37% to 30.43% from 3, proving to be enough to come out with a win despite Notre Dame’s marginal lead in total field-goal percentage.

Despite the brutal beat for the Fighting Irish, a 28-point performance from guard Prentiss Hubb was a bright spot. Hubb is second on the team in points per game with 13.7, behind junior forward Nate Laszewski, who is averaging 14.3 per contest. Notre Dame’s other double-digit scorers include junior guard Dane Goodwin (12.3 ppg), graduate forward Juwan Durham (10.5 ppg) and junior guard Ryan Cormac (10.1 ppg).

NC State will have to contain these Notre Dame shooters to come out of this matchup with a win. Notre Dame is not afraid to shoot from outside, averaging 9.1 3-pointers made per game on a season 3-point percentage of .374. The Pack will also look to capitalize on Notre Dame’s 10.2 turnovers per game while staying under its own 13.3 turnover per game average.

Historically this matchup is a close one, with NC State coming in at 7-8 all-time against Notre Dame. However, recent history favors the Pack, which is on a three-game win streak in the matchup. The last time these two faced off was in January of 2020, where the Pack walked away from the game with a 73-68 victory. 

Both teams will clearly want to come out of South Bend with a win to help build on their teams’ respective confidence heading into the tournament season. For NC State, a win would further extend this ACC win streak and be a clear indicator that this squad will look to put up a fight in the ACC Tournament. For Notre Dame, a win here could be just the spark it needs to shock some viewers come conference tournament time.

The matchup is scheduled for Wednesday, March 3 in South Bend, Indiana. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the ACC Network and on the ESPN app. Updates on this matchup and many more NC State sports games are provided on the @TechSports Twitter page.