Boxscore | Bracket | Postgame Quotes | Tournament Central
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) -T.J. Gibbs scored 16 points and Dane Goodwin added 15 points, and Notre Dame defeated Boston College 80-58 on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the New York Life Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
The Irish (20-12) won in an unconventional manner as five different players scored in double digits, none of which were Associated Press first-team All-ACC selection John Mooney,
Prentiss Hubb had 14 points for Notre Dame, while Juwan Durham had 12 points and Nate Laszewski scored 10. Mooney finished with eight points and 11 rebounds.
Tenth-seeded Boston College was led by 20 points and 13 rebounds from Steffon Mitchell.
The two teams split during the regular season with each team winning by one point on the other's home court.
But this one wasn't nearly as close.
The Irish jumped out to a 30-12 lead with 3:37 left in the first half after the Eagles opened the game 3 of 24 from the field. Boston College shot 34% for the game and was just 6 of 20 from 3-point range.
BIG PICTURE
Boston College: The Eagles simply couldn't dig out of an early hole. They needed someone to step up in the scoring column and that didn't happen until Mitchell got going in the second half. Notre Dame's 1-3-1 defense seemed to throw off the Eagles.
Notre Dame: Coach Mike Brey was happy with the team's balanced scoring attack. Now they hope for more of the same against Virginia.
NOTES
Notre Dame advances to Thursday’s 7 p.m. quarterfinal game versus No. 2 seed Virginia (23-7). The Fighting Irish dropped a hard-fought 50-49 decision in the regular-season meeting between the teams on Feb. 11.
The Fighting Irish improved to 10-5 all-time in ACC Tournament play, including 4-1 in Greensboro. Notre Dame has won four consecutive tournament games at the Coliseum, dating back to the Fighting Irish’s championship run when the event was last held here in 2015.
Since joining the ACC for the 2013-14 season, Notre Dame ranks fourth in ACC Tournament games won behind Duke and North Carolina (12 wins each) and Virginia (11).
Boston College slipped to 10-15 in the ACC Tournament, including a 5-7 mark in Greensboro.
The No. 7 seed is now 11-4 versus the No. 10 seed in the ACC Tournament, including a 4-2 edge in second-round games.
Notre Dame became the eighth NCAA Division I program to reach 1,900 men’s basketball victories, joining Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, Temple, Syracuse and UCLA.
T.J. Gibbs scored 16 points to lead five Notre Dame players scoring in double figures. Dane Goodwin added 15 points, and Prentiss Hubb scored 14.
Juwan Durham (12 points) and Nate Laszewski (10) bolstered the Irish with a combined 22 points off the bench.
With 8 points and 11 rebounds, Notre Dame junior forward John Mooney just missed adding to his nation-leading double-double total, which remains at 25.
Boston College junior forward Stefon Mitchell led all players in scoring (20) and rebounds (13) – one point ad two rebounds shy of his career highs. The double-double is the 15th of Mitchell’s career and eighth this season.