I should know better, no doubt about that, but right as NC State was going up double figures in the first half, I let myself think maybe this might be an easy one. No such luck there, as Notre Dame turned right around and erased that lead with a run of its own.
It was a battle from that point on, with Notre Dame out-shooting State and taking a three-point lead into halftime. It was a near best-case half for the Irish, who hadn’t been shooting the ball exceptionally well in league play. They did for quite a bit of this one.