March 05--Back-to-back losses, and three defeats in three of its last four, left Notre Dame's back against the wall for its regular-season finale against North Carolina State.
Instead of controlling its own destiny in the ACC tournament, the Irish, thanks to their 89-75 victory Saturday against the Wolfpack, will need Duke to lose to North Carolina in order to gain a coveted double-bye in defense of their tournament title.
The Irish missed eight of their first nine shots in the first half Saturday, but thanks in large part to a career-best 17 points -- all scored in the first half -- from Ryan and 24 and 11 rebounds from Auguste, they bounced back.
Three days after scoring just 50 points in a loss to Miami, the Irish neared that mark during the first 20 minutes against the Wolfpack.
Anthony Barber led the Wolfpack (15-16, 5-13 ACC) with 29 points.
Defending hadn't been Notre Dame's biggest problem during this three-losses-in-four-games streak that includes losses in two in a row (by a combined 39 points) for the first time since the end of the 2013-14 season. Notre Dame (20-10, 11-7 ACC) didn't reached 70 points during that streak.
pskrbina@tribpub.com
