Notre Dame had a disappointing 3-15 ACC record last year and is hoping to redeem itself this season.

The Fighting Irish dropped their first two games in the ACC — lost at North Carolina on Nov. 6 and vs. Boston College on Dec. 7. Notre Dame bounced back to top Syracuse 88-87 on Saturday, which is arguably the top win for the Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame (10-4) travels to NC State at 7 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN2.

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Notre Dame has a big sophomore class, but the team still follows the lead of senior post player John Mooney and senior combo guard T.J. Gibbs, who are the top two scorers.

Where Notre Dame excels at is not beating itself. The Fighting Irish lead the country in assist-to-turnover ration (1.96), fewest turnovers per game (9.6) and lowest fouls per game (11.6). Guards sophomore Prentiss Hubb and Gibbs have only committed a combined 3.4 turnovers a contest.

ND has battled some injuries and attrition. Fifth-year senior wing Rex Pflueger will be a game-time decision due to a bone bruise in his knee.

Rankings

In the NET rankings done by the NCAA, Notre Dame is currently No. 79 in the country. KenPom.com has Notre Dame at No. 61, and ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Fighting Irish at No. 55.

The Fighting Irish are ranked No. 126 in the old RPI formula used by the NCAA — according to RealTimeRPI.com.

Shooting

Notre Dame is fourth in the ACC with 76.1 points per game, and is shooting 42.3 percent from the field (10th in the ACC) and 34.9 percent on three-pointers (sixth in ACC).

The Fighting Irish can play five three-point shooters on the floor if backup sophomore post player Nate Laszewski is paired with Mooney. That would give ND five players with at least 15 made three-pointers. Gibbs leads the way at 41.3 percent from beyond the mark and sophomore wing Dane Goodwin is at 40 percent on three-pointers and has made 23 of 24 free throws.

Rebounding

Thanks to Mooney and 6-11 Juwan Durham, the Fighting Irish are third in the ACC with 40.6 rebounds a contest. ND is also fifth in the league with 10.9 offensive rebounds per game, but holds just a 0.8 rebounding margin.

Mooney has been dominant on the boards at 13.5 a game, Durham chips in 6.4 rebounds a game and Laszewski has been active at 5.4.

Defense

Notre Dame is allowing 65.0 points per game — which ranks eighth in the ACC — and is fifth in the league with opposing teams shooting 39.2 percent from the field. Opponents are shooting 33.4 percent from three-point land, which ranks 11th in the conference.

Durham is the sole shot-blocker on the team, but he is quite good at erasing shots. He has 39 blocked shots, including five games where he had at least four. If Pflueger can’t go, they’ll miss him on defense. He has 23 steals and the experience of a veteran.

Depth

Notre Dame’s bench could shrink by one if Goodwin is in the lineup for Pflueger. ND already has lost redshirt freshman wing Robby Carmody to a season-ending knee injury after seven games, and sophomore power forward Chris Doherty has transferred out of the program.

If Pflueger can’t go, that leaves Laszewski and redshirt junior small forward Nikola Djogo and some walk-ons on the bench. The 6-10, 225-pound Laszewski came on at the end of last year, but is backing up Mooney and Durham this season. He is averaging 7.7 points and 5.4 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game. He’s shooting 40.7 percent from the field and 31.1 percent on three-pointers.

The 6-7, 220-pound Djogo is averaging a modest 1.2 points in 7.3 minutes per game this season, and is just 3 of 14 from the field this season.

Notre Dame senior post player John Mooney was one of two players who returned from last year’s three All-ACC teams — Louisville forward Jordan Nwora is the other. Mooney is well on his way to a banner senior season, which is an improbable story considering his recruitment coming out of Orlando, Fla.

Mooney was ranked No. 144 overall in the class of 2016 out of Altamonte Springs (Fla.) Lake Brantley High by Rivals.com. He verbally committed to Florida, but when head coach Billy Donovan left for the Oklahoma City Thunder, new Gators coach Mike White didn’t want to retain him. That is when Donovan contacted Brey and told him about Mooney. After he played well in pickup games on his official visit to Notre Dame, he got his chance with the Fighting Irish.

The 6-9, 245-pounder emerged as a force last year with 14.1 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, and he had 20 double-doubles on the season. Mooney had 19 points and 16 boards in a 77-73 home loss vs. NC State last year.

Mooney has improved to 15.9 points and 13.5 rebounds per game this season, and he’s shooting 46.2 percent from the field. He’s 15 of 43 on three-pointers for 34.9 percent. He is arguably coming off his best game last Saturday at Syracuse and the Orange’s zone defense. He went 11 of 21 from the field for 28 points and 14 rebounds in the win.

Mooney had 28 points and 16 rebounds in a 74-64 win over Marshall on Nov. 15. Those are the only two games he’s reached 20-plus points, but he has grabbed double figures in all but one contest this season.

NC State

PG — 11 Markell Johnson (6-1, 175, Sr., 12.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 6.8 apg, 1.7 spg)

SG — 24 Devon Daniels (6-5, 205, R-Jr., 11.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.8 spg)

G — 10 Braxton Beverly (6-0, 180, Jr., 8.1 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.6 apg)

PF — 4 Jericole Hellems (6-7, 205, Soph., 10.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.8 apg)

C — 15 Manny Bates (6-11, 230, R-Fr., 6.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 0.4 apg, 3.2 bpg)

Notre Dame

PG — 3 Prentiss Hubb (6-3, 175, Soph., 11.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 5.1 apg)

SG — 10 T.J. Gibbs (6-3, 185, Sr., 12.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.1 spg)

G — 23 Dane Goodwin (6-6, 200, Soph., 11.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.6 apg)

PF — 33 John Mooney (6-9, 245 Sr., 15.9 ppg, 13.5 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.0 spg)

C — 11 Juwan Durham (6-11, 233, R-Sr., 8.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 0.9 apg, 2.8 bpg)

1 Place nationally for Notre Dame senior post player John Mooney in rebounds per game (13.5) and with 11 double-doubles. He’s tied for first in both categories.

5 Players in major conferences that are averaging at least 11 points off the bench, which includes Notre Dame’s Dane Goodwin (11.5 points per game) and NC State redshirt junior center D.J. Funderburk (11.9).

18.8 Assists per game for Notre Dame, which ranks third in the country and first in the ACC. ND had 33 assists against Detroit Mercy, who NC State also played this season.

Notre Dame senior combo guard T.J. Gibbs and his junior counterpart Braxton Beverly of NC State are in the unique position of shooting better from three-point land than on two-pointers this season.

Gibbs is 19 of 62 on twos this season for 30.6 percent, which is shockingly low. However, he’s 41.3 percent on three-pointers and 87.9 percent at the free-throw line. This has been a good bounce-back season for Gibbs, who dropped to just 31.8 percent on three-pointers last year.

Notre Dame has played each of its three ACC games in different months, but Gibbs has been impressive in all of them. Gibbs is tied for third in ACC-only play with 20.6 points per game, so he’s shown the ability to rise up to the level of competition this season. His conference success is due to being red-hot from three-point land, shooting a ridiculous 13 of 20 for 65.0 percent.

The Syracuse zone defense couldn’t contain Gibbs. He went 6 of 8 from beyond the arc for 21 points in 38 minutes played in the 88-87 win.

Beverly is shooting 12 of 31 on two-pointers for 38.7 percent, and he’s at 39.3 percent on three-pointers. That latter percentage has taken a hit after shooting 3 of 15 from beyond the arc over his last four games.

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