tangle with the Florida State Seminoles in an Atlantic

South Bend, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Looking to build on a five-game win streak, the 25th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish will tangle with the Florida State Seminoles in an Atlantic Coast Conference bout at Purcell Pavilion on Saturday. Florida State came out of the gate a little sluggish this season, losing three straight games in the Naismith Hall of Fame Classic after a season-opening win over Manhattan. Since that time, the Seminoles have won three of their last four games, including a 96-73 destruction of UCF last Saturday. Speaking of destruction, Notre Dame has clearly felt very comfortable in the confines of Purcell Pavilion, owning an 8-0 record at home this season. The only contest the Irish have dropped so far is a tight 75-74 loss to Providence back in November. Notre Dame is coming off a 93-67 win over Mount St. Marys. Surprisingly, these two storied programs have only met twice on the court in their all-time series. Florida State owns the 2-0 series lead, which includes a narrow 76-74 victory over the Irish in Tallahassee last season. UCF had a nightmare of a time trying to contain Florida State last Saturday as the Seminoles exploded offensively. FSU connected on 62.1 percent of its shots in the game (41-of-66 from the floor) en route to the 23-point victory. Montay Brandon was stellar in leading the team, netting 23 points with six rebounds to top each category on his squad. Aaron Thomas added 22 points with four assists. Both players sunk 10 shots from the floor. Jarquez Smith chipped in 16 points, and Kiel Turpin added 10 in the victory. Florida States struggles on defense led to the teams early season destruction, but it appears things are starting to come together for the FSU defense. Entering this game, the Seminoles are allowing 67.8 ppg to opponents, while as a unit the team is scoring 70.2 ppg of its own on 48.3 percent shooting. Thomas paces the squad with a 14.8 ppg mark, followed closely by Brandons 13.4 ppg and Xavier Rathan-Mayess 12.3 ppg margin. Brandon tops the squad in rebounding, bringing down 6.4 boards per outing. Mount St. Marys didnt stand much of a chance against a very offense-driven Notre Dame squad on Tuesday night. The visitors connected on just 36.8 percent of their shots from the floor in the game, which wasnt nearly enough to keep pace with the Irish. Notre Dame netted 59 percent of their tries from the floor, including 8-of-14 from 3-point range. Zach Auguste, Jerian Grant and Steve Vasturia all netted 19 points to pace the team in the win, while Demetrius Jackson chipped in with 15 points. Auguste grabbed a team-high eight boards in the teams fifth straight victory. That strong Irish offense sports four players netting scoring averages in the double digits entering this clash with Florida State, led by Grants 19.0 ppg mark. Auguste checks in with 14.1 ppg, Pat Connaughton adds in 13.1 ppg and Jackson contributes 12.8 ppg for the Irish, who are netting 85.1 ppg as a whole. Notre Dames shooting percentage sits at an incredible 56.2 percent from the field, which includes a 41 percent mark from 3-point distance. Gary Harris Nuggets Jersey .? It was his second straight start for the Jets; he suffered a 1-0 loss against Minnesota Monday. So this season Hutchinson has now won games in the ECHL, AHL and NHL. He was perfect three- for-three in the shootout to nail down the win. Michael Porter Nuggets Jersey . His right arm rested in a sling and was encased in a cast from above the elbow to his hand. "Im excited," Fernandez said with a grin. http://www.nuggetsprostore.com/kids-thomas-welsh-nuggets-jersey/ . - Mike Zimmer has brought a demanding style to the Minnesota Vikings. Malik Beasley Nuggets Jersey . The 36-year-old Colts receiver is going back to the playoffs as a division champion. Dikembe Mutombo Nuggets Jersey . A lovely summer day in England with abundant sunshine and minimal wind allowed him to attack Royal Liverpool.PEORIA, Ill. -- Wichita State is all alone in the record book. Again using a balanced offence and tenacious defence, the second-ranked Shockers became the first Division I team to reach 30-0 in the regular season with a 69-49 victory over Bradley on Tuesday night. "To be the first and only team in college basketball to win 30 without a loss in the regular season," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said when asked about his theme for the game. "I realize were playing more games ... but it has never happened in the regular season. "So its a first. And these guys like to be the first, and the best." Ron Baker had 15 points to lead four Wichita State players in double figures as the Shockers became the 11th team to reach 30-0, the previous 10 all hitting the 30-win mark during post-season play. The last team to reach 30-0 was UNLV in 1990-91. The Runnin Rebels went 34-0 that season before losing to Duke in the national semifinals. The Shockers (30-0, 17-0 Missouri Valley Conference) have one more regular-season game, at home Saturday against Missouri State. The last team to finish a regular season unbeaten was Saint Josephs in 2003-04 at 27-0. The next season, Illinois got to 29-0 before losing its regular-season finale at Ohio State. A barrage of 3-pointers early in the second half broke it open for Wichita State, which beat Bradley (12-18, 7-10) for the 10th straight time and second this season. After Bradley trimmed a 10-point halftime deficit to eight, Shockers point guard Fred VanVleet made consecutive 3s for a 14-point lead, the visitors largest to that point. By the 12:50 mark, Cleanthony Early had added a 3-pointer and Baker made two 3s off screens for a 50-32 lead. Wichita State finished the game 11 of 21 from beyond the arc, with four players making two or more. Bradley was 4 of 14. "End-of-shot-clock 3s. That was it," Bradley coach Geno Ford said. "Im not saying we were going to win, but you hold them to seven offensive rebounds and have just six turnovers? Ill take it.dddddddddddd "The difference was late-shot-clock 3s and their length at the basket." Ford went on to laud the Shockers defence. "At the rim, they have unbelievable length," Ford said. "Its length and it comes from anywhere. Even (6-foot-3) Baker. "Theyre absolutely terrific at help and recover, and they deny (wing passes). You cant find five teams in the country with that (combination)." Tyshon Pickett finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds for Bradley after nearly reaching a double-double in the first half with 10 points and nine rebounds. Pickett was just 5-of-20 from the field and leading scorer Walt Lemon Jr. was 6 for 20 and had 18 points. "I hate to get beat on the glass," Marshall said of his teams 37-36 rebound disadvantage. "But (Pickett) was a monster. He beasted us a little." Tekele Cotton scored 13 points, Early 12 and VanVleet had 11 for Wichita State, a Final Four participant a year ago. Reserve Darius Carter added nine points and seven rebounds and had one of the Shockers six blocked shots. Miserable shooting prevented Bradley from mounting much of a threat. The Braves were at 25 per cent (11 for 44) through 30 minutes and finished 16 for 59 (27.1 per cent). Bradley was playing host to its highest-ranked opponent since 1982, when then-No. 2 Wichita State lost 55-47 to the Braves who went on to win the NIT. The Shockers led 35-25 at halftime after holding the Braves to 8-of-34 shooting (23.5 per cent). The game was a matchup of the top two defensive teams in the conference, though Wichita State (60.8 points per game) leads Bradley (65.5) comfortably. Offensively, Wichita State is also the MVCs best (75.8) while Bradley (63.8) is last. The No. 2 ranking equals the highest ranking in Wichita State history, matching the 1981-82 team. ' ' '