Notre Dame @ Florida State preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 25, 2019 ) Notre Dame 61, Florida State 68

Florida State continues to surge, moving up to No. 6 after rallying from a nine-point deficit in the final 4:33 of regulation to defeat rival Miami 83-79 in overtime a week ago. Now the Seminoles set their sights on extending their winning streak to 10 on Saturday as they host a Notre Dame team that has lost three of its last four after coming up short at home against Syracuse 84-82 last time out.

"That's what we've been trying to build -- a team that's worthy of that level of attention and support," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton told reporters. "We want to keep it that way so in order for it to be consistent night in and night out, we just want to continue to keep winning." The Seminoles have had close calls their last two outings, but they have shown resilience in rallying to take down defending champion Virginia 54-50 before the comeback against Miami. The Fighting Irish haven't had nearly the same late-game success and they weren't able to get the stops down the stretch against Syracuse despite the presence of star senior John Mooney, the nation's leading rebounder (13.9 per game) who has recorded double-doubles in the last 12 games to break the school record of 11 previously held by Luke Harangody. "Well we sure do provide good TV, I guess," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. "Disappointed for us. We scratched and clawed but we couldn't guard them enough."

TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: ACC Network

ABOUT NOTRE DAME (11-7, 2-5 ACC): Mooney had 21 points and 13 rebounds against Syracuse for his 15th double-double of the season and he was one of four Irish to finish in double figures, joining Dane Goodwin (15), T.J. Gibbs (13) and Nate Laszewski (11). Notre Dame is hitting 34.6 percent of its long-distance shots, with the team nailing at least 10 3-pointers in eight games, including 13 against Syracuse. The Irish haven't hurt themselves with turnovers, ranking second in the nation behind Virginia Tech (9.5) in fewest turnovers committed per game (9.7), and they lost the ball just seven times against the Orange, the ninth time this season that they registered less than 10 turnovers.

ABOUT FLORIDA STATE (16-2, 6-1): While Devin Vassell paces the Seminoles in scoring with 13.2 points per game after registering a team-high 23 against Miami, he was recognized for his defensive abilities this week as he was one of 15 players named to the 2020 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Midseason Watch List. Vassell is eighth in the ACC in steals (1.7 spg) and 10th in blocked shots (1.2 bpg) and he also leads the team with 68 defensive rebounds while tied with Malik Osborne with 92 total boards (5.1 per game). Led by Vassell, Florida State has ACC highs of 177 total steals and 9.8 per game, with the team producing 35 takeaways in the last three games (11.7 spg).

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Florida State holds a slim 5-4 series lead over Notre Dame after defeating the Irish 68-61 in Tallahassee last February.

2. This will be the first of two meetings between these ACC foes as the Irish will host the Seminoles on March 4.

3. Florida State is 58-3 in its last 61 home games since the end of the 2015-16 season .

PREDICTION: Florida State 82, Notre Dame 76