As football season begins to wind down and Brian Kelly looks to capture his third-straight 10-win season, basketball season no so quietly gets underway on Wednesday night. Mike Brey and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish get thrown to the fire right away, as they open up the season on the road against No. 9 North Carolina Tar Heels. The ACC moved to a 20-game slate this season and with the ACC Network just being launched, a handful conference games are being played early this season.
The Irish were picked seventh in the ACC preseason poll, thanks to a promising sophomore class and veterans such as John Mooney, TJ Gibbs, Rex Pflueger and Juwan Durham.