Walker Carey (@walkerRcarey) is an RTC Correspondent. He filed this report following Saturday night’s game between Florida State and Notre Dame.
Notre Dame’s 15-17 campaign from a season ago seems to be long forgotten as the Irish moved to 10-1 Saturday night with a dominating 83-63 victory over conference foe Florida State. The fact that the Seminoles feature three seven-footers on their roster did not phase the Irish frontline, as junior big man Zach Auguste turned in a career-best performance with 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting. Saturday night represented quite the bounce back performance for Auguste, as he struggled mightily in Notre Dame’s last game against a power conference opponent, finishing with just four points and four rebounds in December 3’s victory over Michigan State. The following are three takeaways from Saturday evening’s action.
- Zach Auguste was a monster. The majority of questions about Notre Dame entering this season were regarding the team’s inside players. Would they be good enough for the Irish to be a legitimate factor in the ACC? Well, from the looks of it in Saturday night’s first conference game, junior forward Zach Auguste is more than ready to lead the Irish frontline through the rigors of the ACC. Matched up against a Florida State front that features seven-footers Kiel Turpin, Boris Bojanovsky, and Michael Ojo, Auguste more than held his own. The junior finished with a career-best 26 points to go along with seven rebounds. Auguste – along with Irish reserve forwards Martinas Geben and Austin Torres – helped limit the Florida State frontline to just eight points and 11 rebounds on the night. The ACC gauntlet will undoubtedly be arduous, but if Mike Brey and the Irish can get performances from its frontcourt like it did Saturday, the Irish may earn a reputation for having more than just a strong backcourt.
- Demetrius Jackson continues to evolve. The 2013 McDonald’s All-American suffered through a bit of a rough transition to the college game in his first season in South Bend. Playing in the shadow of two-time Irish captain Eric Atkins, Jackson averaged just 22.2 minutes a game and 6.0 points per contest. Thus far in his sophomore campaign, it has been a completely different story for the Mishawaka, Ind. native. Fully entrenched as the Irish point guard, Jackson entered Saturday night’s action, averaging 12.8 points per game and shooting a sizzling 56.6% from the field. In the win over Florida State, Jackson filled up the stat sheet with 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals. If Jackson can continue to play at a high level, the combination of he and Irish standout guard Jerian Grant could end up being the best backcourt in the ACC.
- Florida State could be in for a long season. News broke late Friday that Florida State junior guard Aaron Thomas will be academically ineligible for the remainder of the season. That is a significant blow to the Seminoles, as Thomas had been their leading scorer with an average of 14.8 points per game. The loss of Thomas undoubtedly hurts, but it is not like the Seminoles were lighting the world on fire with Thomas in the lineup. After the 20-point loss to Notre Dame, Florida State is now a disappointing 4-5 overall. If Leonard Hamilton is unable to find a way for his team to counteract the loss of Thomas and get some wins under its belt, the rest of the season could certainly be unkind to the Seminoles.