No. 14 Florida State to face road test at Notre Dame

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Surviving quite the Atlantic Coast Conference challenge that featured five wins during six-straight games against ranked opponents last month, No. 14 Florida State has been handed another doozy.

Do the Seminoles have another answer?

Saturday's game at sold-out Notre Dame (18-7, 7-5) opens a stretch of four of the next five on the road for Florida State (20-4; 9-3), which is 2/3 away from home in league play.

With three weeks remaining in the regular season, the Seminoles are tied with North Carolina for first place in the ACC.

Winning at Notre Dame won't be easy, even for a Florida State team that has sailed through its last three successes by an average of 30 points.

"We've got to be very focused going to South Bend, because they kind of hit a little skid, like most teams do," Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton said. "They're going to be very hungry for a victory."

Freshman power forward Jonathan Isaac returned to his groove earlier this week in a 24-point home victory over North Carolina State. After scoring only two points in a 48-point clubbing of Clemson, Isaac busted out for 21 points and seven rebounds. He gave the nearly-two dozen NBA scouts in attendance that night good reason to watch.

But for Hamilton, Isaac's impact is felt from more than just what the stat sheet says.

"Jonathan affects the game when he is not scoring a whole lot of points," Hamilton said. "He is more interested in playing the game the right way than he is interested in scoring."

This is a bit different Notre Dame team than the one that fell three points short of the Seminoles last month in Tallahassee. Back then, the Irish were flying high, atop the league having won their first five conference contests. They scored 47 points in the second half of a game that saw them shred the FSU defense to go 15-of-21 (71.4 percent) from 3.

Notre Dame got back on the winning track Tuesday against Wake Forest. That snapped a slide of four-straight ACC games and five of six.

Both teams are playing their third league game in seven days. For the Irish, it's another chance to get into more of an offensive rhythm that has seen coach Mike Brey's team turn to small ball.

Following Sunday's loss to North Carolina, Brey decided to start four perimeter players around one big -- power forward -- Bonzie Colson. The result was 88 points against Wake -- Notre Dame's highest output in league play. The Irish moved it better, shot it better and just overall played better than they have since opening 5-0.

That read and react defense has to be at its best against a Florida State team that forced Notre Dame into 12 first-half turnovers, and 18 overall, in the first meeting. Remaining in a good offensive flow is easier said than done against the Seminoles, who wear teams down with their depth and determination.

"They kind of take your spirit defensively," Brey said. "It's almost as if you're not running as much of your offensive principles sometimes (as) you're reading and reacting to ball pressure, and traps. That's where you're really, really tested."

It's a test the Irish likely wouldn't have passed earlier this month -- or even earlier this week. But the win over Wake delivered a much-needed shot of confidence for a program that was wondering a whole lot while working nearly three weeks between wins.

"We need to come out and play hard for 40 minutes," said guard Matt Farrell. "We really want to get this one."