Notre Dame has won eight of its last nine games to get into NCAA Tournament discussion.

The Fighting Irish are 12-6 overall and 5-2 in the ACC, with key wins over Kentucky and North Carolina. ND also had an unfortunate loss at Boston College on Dec. 3, when they were still trying to find itself.

NC State plays at Notre Dame at 9 p.m. Wednesday on Regional Sports Networks (RSN).

Notre Dame landed five recruits in the class of 2018, and they were supposed to be the nucleus for the future. Three of the players emerged as starters, but the Fighting Irish haven’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2017, which created job concerns for long-time veteran coach Mike Brey. ND would have been under consideration in 2019-20 if the Big Dance had taken place.

The nucleus of point guard Prentiss Hubb, wing Dane Goodwin and power forward Nate Laszewski have gotten help this season. Freshman wing Blake Wesley has bolstered the perimeter and Yale transfer Paul Atkinson Jr. has solidified the center position. Notre Dame also brought back assistant coach Anthony Solomon for a third stint, which has proven a key move.

Rankings

Notre Dame is No. 72 in the NET rankings this season, and NC State is No. 113.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Fighting Irish currently ranked No. 66 overall, and NC State is No. 98.

KenPom.com has Notre Dame at No. 57, and NCSU checks in at No. 100.

RealtimeRPI.com has NC State ranked No. 171 in the country, and Notre Dame is No. 74.

Shooting

Notre Dame has been lights-out from three-point land of late, and shooting 37.5 percent on the season, but 41.0 percent in ACC games. The Fighting Irish have shot 46.0 percent from the field and 75.6 percent at the free-throw line.

Six different players have made at least 13 three-pointers, with Goodwin making a team-high 40 and he’s 48.2 percent from beyond the arc. Junior stretch four Laszewski is also shooting 43.9 percent from three-point land.

Rebounding

Notre Dame has solid size across the board, but have barely out-rebounded foes 32.9-32.4 this season. The Fighting Irish have grabbed 127 offensive rebounds, with Atkinson snagging 37.

Laszewski leads ND with 7.3 rebounds per game with Atkinson right behind him at 6.3 a contest.

Defense

Opposing teams are shooting 44.0 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from three-point land.

Notre Dame doesn’t have a rim protector of note, with Laszewski and Atkinson having 13 blocks apiece.

Notre Dame is averaging 5.3 steals per game with freshman wing Blake Wesley leading the way with 19.

Depth

Notre Dame used a pair of former transfers off the bench in its last game. Stanford wing Cormac Ryan and Santa Clara wing Trey Wertz combined to play 44 minutes against the Cardinals. No other player has played in more than four games this season.

The 6-5, 194-pound Ryan is averaging 8.0 points and 4.2 rebounds a contest in 28.8 minutes a contest. He’s shooting 40 percent from the field and 37.7 percent on three-pointers.

The 6-5, 192-pound Wertz, who is the son of Charlotte Observer preps writer Langston Wertz, is averaging 4.8 points and 2.6 assists in 21.7 minutes per game. He’s shooting 32.5 percent from three-point land.

Wing Blake Wesley is getting mentioned with the past freshman greats of Notre Dame basketball.

Wesley’s 15.0 points per game is currently fifth all-time among freshman players, trailing Troy Murphy (19.2 ppg), Adrian Dantley (18.3), David Rivers (15.8) and Chris Thomas (15.6). He also has scored in double-figures in 15 consecutive games, which is a school record for a freshman.

Wesley is fourth in the country among freshman in points per game, and second in the ACC. He’s just ahead of NC State freshman wing Terquavion Smith (14.9 points per game). He has cracked 20-plus points in five games this season, with a season-high 24 in a 82-72 loss at Illinois on Nov. 29. He had an ACC-best 22 points against both Georgia Tech on Jan. 8 and Louisville last Saturday.

Wesley is shooting 48.2 percent form the field and 33.8 percent on three-pointers. He’s hit at least three three-pointers in four contests this season.

The 6-foot-5, 185-pounder from South Bend (Ind.) Riley High was ranked No. 104 nationally by Rivals.com. He had 14 offers, but picked the Fighting Irish over Purdue, Xavier, Maryland and Kansas State among others.

NC State

PG — 1 Dereon Seabron (6-7, 180, R-Soph., 19.3 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.6 spg)

SG — 0 Terquavion Smith (6-4, 160, Fr., 14.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.4 spg)

G — 14 Casey Morsell (6-3, 200, Jr., 7.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 0.8 apg)

PF — 4 Jericole Hellems (6-7, 200, Sr., 14.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.4 spg)

C — 21 Ebenezer Dowuona (6-11, 225, Soph., 4.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 0.1 apg, 2.1 bpg)

Notre Dame

PG — 3 Prentiss Hubb (6-3, 176, Jr., 8.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.5 apg)

SG — 23 Dane Goodwin (6-6, 208, Jr., 15.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.2 apg)

SF — 0 Blake Wesley (6-5, 185, Fr., 15.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.1 spg)

PF — 14 Nate Laszewski (6-10, 235, Jr., 8.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 0.9 apg)

C — 20 Paul Atkinson Jr. (6-9, 230, Sr., 11.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.5 apg)

1: Wing Dane Goodwin is only player in a major conference that is shooting .500 from the field, .400 from three-point land, and 90.0 percent from the free-throw line, and averaging over 15 points per game. Goodwin is shooting 51.3 percent from the field, 48.2 percent on three-pointers and 91.9 percent at the line, and averaging 15.2 points per game, and has scored in double figures in every game.

8 Consecutive wins at Purcell Pavilion dating back to last season. The streak includes win over FSU last March, and over Kentucky and North Carolina this season.

1,000: Career points for senior guard Trey Wertz, who helped Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day win a state title with future NBA players Devon Dotson and Grant Williams.

Senior center Paul Atkinson Jr. has filled a gaping hole after transferring in from Yale.

The 6-9, 230-pounder averaged 17.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in 2019-20 at Yale. He has shot a blistering 65.2 percent from the field in 109 career games (77 starts), so he also understands his strengths and limitations.

Atkinson is averaging 11.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game at Notre Dame, and is shooting 60.7 percent from the field and 77.6 percent from the free-throw line. He scored in double figures in 13 contests.

Atkinson has a pair of double-doubles for points and rebounds, including going for 19 points and 11 rebounds in a 70-61 win against High Point on Nov. 16. He also added 19 points and nine rebounds in a 79-73 loss at Virginia Tech on Jan. 15.

The 6-11, 225-pound Ebenezer Dowuona is averaging 4.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 26.6 minutes per game for NC State. He had 10 points and nine rebounds at Duke on Jan. 15.

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