MEN'S BASKETBALL
BY JORDAN WELLS
F
rom résumé-building wins like
the 68-62 neutral-court triumph
over Iowa to frustrating defeats
such as the 80-73 loss to Indiana,
the Irish finished the non-conference
portion of their season 9-3 overall.
That stretch consisted of a 2-3 show-
ing against squads ranked in the Ken-
pom.com top 100 (efficiency ratings
designed to provide you with a snap-
shot of a team's current level of play)
as of Dec. 28, a 3-0 mark versus teams
ranked from 100-199 and a 4-0 record
against teams ranked 200th or lower.
Now the real meat of their schedule
begins in ACC play, with 13 of Notre
Dame's 18 conference contests against
teams ranked in Kenpom.com's top 100.
Here's a look at how the rest of the
ACC performed in their non-confer-
ence slates.
TOP TIER STILL INTACT
Entering the season, many — in-
cluding Notre Dame head coach Mike
Brey — thought that a tier of Duke,
North Carolina and Virginia topped
the conference, followed by a second
group of teams that included the Irish,
Pittsburgh and Syracuse, among a
couple others.
That's proven mostly true in regards
to the top teams. Virginia started the
preseason ranked No. 3 nationally by
Kenpom.com and maintained that
ranking after a 10-1 overall start in
non-conference play. Duke began the
season atop the rankings, but slipped
