Dec. 12--Even though Notre Dame will be playing at Purcell Pavilion on Saturday night, it will be entering strange territory.
The 25th-ranked Irish (9-1) will be playing an Atlantic Coast Conference game Dec. 13 -- the earliest they have played a conference game since 1998.
Notre Dame dodged this scheduling quirk in its first season in the ACC, but this season the Irish are ramping up their preparation for conference play a little earlier before facing Florida State, which defeated the Irish 76-74 last season in Tallahassee, Fla.
"Ask me at 10 o'clock Saturday and I'll tell you if I like this early conference game," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. "For us, as we're trying to build this thing and get confident, I think it's great."
Added senior Pat Connaughton: "It's different than usual, but we're excited for it."
For Brey, the ACC still doesn't feel completely like home as the Irish enter their second season in the conference. They still are getting used to seeing teams such as the Seminoles, Clemson and North Carolina State dotting the schedule instead of Villanova, Georgetown and Seton Hall.
"One more year and maybe we'll feel a part of it," Brey said. "You certainly feel in a better position than you did last year, flying a little blind with teams, systems, personnel and also officials."
With a season of film and experience, Brey can tailor his practices to combating specific tendencies he has noticed in ACC teams.
"You have a better feel for style of play and for personnel when you remember the guys you played against," he said. "You're starting to get a little bit of a book on people."
One ACC team Brey admires is Florida State (4-4), which has battled injuries early in the season but will have key guard Aaron Thomas (foot) back in the lineup Saturday. The Seminoles have finished .500 or better in conference play every year since 2009 and won the ACC tournament in 2012.
"They've created a heck of a niche in the ACC and know how to win in this league," Brey said. "It's a little bit like what we created in the Big East and what we're trying to find in the ACC. I'm very envious of the niche they have, and it's something we strive for."
That quest starts a little earlier than normal this season.
"This is where we can make our statement," junior forward Zach Auguste said, "put our footprint in the ACC, find our identity and let people know who we are."
chine@tribpub.com
Twitter @ChristopherHine
