Looking at No. 3 seed Notre Dame (31-5), which plays Wichita State Thursday night at 7:15 in the Midwest regional semifinals in Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena...
THE PATH: The ACC tournament champs come to Cleveland on a seven-game win streak but had two close calls last weekend in Pittsburgh, beating Northeastern, 69-65, and Butler, 67-64, in overtime.
THE STARS: Seniors Jerian Grant and Pat Connaughton make this the team Notre Dame fans have waited for. Grant averages 16.8 points and 6.6 for the year, while Connaughton scores 12.5 a game and is shooting 43 percent from behind the 3-point line. Post man Zach Auguste shoots 61 percent from the field; August, Connaughton and sophomore point guard Demetrius Jackson all average above 12 points per game, but everything runs through Grant.
THE HEAD HONCHO: Mike Brey has been Notre Dame's coach since 2000. He coached last Saturday's overtime win over Butler on the same day he lost his mother to a heart attack -- and didn't tell anyone until after the game. Brey came to Notre Dame after a stint at Delaware. He previously was an assistant on the legendary Duke teams of the early 1990s.
RECENT TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Not good. The Northeastern win was Notre Dame's first NCAA win since 2011. The Irish missed the tournament last year after Grant was lost to academic issues. This is Notre Dame's first Sweet 16 since 2003.
THE NUMBERS: Notre Dame shoots 51 percent for the year -- second best in the country -- and 39 percent on 3-pointers. The Irish's ability to spread the floor and bomb away makes them capable of beating just about anybody; falling too much in love with the 3-point line makes them vulnerable, too, if the shots aren't falling. The Irish average 79 points per game but still managed to advance last weekend in slower-paced games.
