The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are making basketball look easy. Like, unsettlingly easy. They’ve won 19 in a row, all but one by double digits. It’s the toughest draw in the country for the NC State Wolfpack, who will still be eager to avenge their 1-point loss at rival UNC. Sunday gives us a national look at the two teams atop the ACC standings.
This Notre Dame squad is transcendent right now. Hannah Hidalgo is a supernova — her 24.6 points per game rank second in the country, and she hovers around 50/40/90 shooting splits while averaging four steals on the other end. She has lower turnover and foul marks than last year’s All-American campaign.
But wait, there’s more! Hidalgo alone is a huge problem for opponents, but pairing her with Olivia Miles is a Daliesque nightmare. She leads the conference in both assists and shooting efficiency, which is wild. How do you defend these two buckets simultaneously? The spacing is even cleaner when deadeye Sonia Citron is in her groove. Niele Ivey’s Irish comfortably leads the nation at 41.4 percent shooting behind the arc, nearly a full two percentage points higher than Kansas State (39.6).
Aziaha James will need to really shine for the Wolfpack to have a chance at the upset. Her 36-piece against Duke earlier this month was masterful. Her 3-ball has been inconsistent, but her splits are far greener in home action. This is one of the biggest games of her four-year collegiate career and a prime opportunity to get right against an intimidating final boss. In the three games James played over 10 minutes against Notre Dame, she shot 36.9 percent from the field and 7 percent from 3-point range.
Wes Moore’s team surrenders the fewest fouls in the conference. They win in the paint and will look to muddy the game script against a smooth and icy Irish offense.
The Athletic’s Sabreena Merchant recently picked Notre Dame to win the national title: “Any team with an All-American point guard catches my eye in March, and the Irish have two. As the best 3-point shooting team in the country and the most prolific transition offense, it’s easy for Notre Dame to score in bunches and break away from opponents. The Irish show up in marquee games, with wins over USC, UConn and Texas out of conference, in addition to running the table in ACC play. Notre Dame’s two losses came back-to-back in the Bahamas when they were down two frontcourt players, and they’ve been dominant since. They’re winners of 18 in a row, 17 by double digits, and that one nine-point win was without Hannah Hidalgo. This is a deep, veteran team that is ready to get over the hump in the tournament.”
(Photo of Hannah Hidalgo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
