GAME NOTES: After suffering just their second loss of the season and first in conference play, the 12th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish take to the road on Wednesday for an ACC showdown with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at McCamish Pavilion.

Mike Brey's Irish had an 11-game win streak halted last weekend, as they dropped a 62-56 decision to now second-ranked Virginia at Purcell Pavilion. The loss dropped Notre Dame to a still impressive 15-2 on the season, including a 3-1 mark in the ACC.

Brian Gregory's Yellow Jackets have had an up and down season thus far. The team is 9-6 overall, but is still in search of its first conference win of the year, falling to 0-3 with Saturday's 76-69 loss at Wake Forest. Georgia Tech has now lost three straight games and four of its last five overall.

Tech's streak began with an 83-76 2OT loss at Notre Dame on Jan. 3. The Irish are seeking the regular-season sweep in this contest and now trail the all- time series with the Yellow Jackets by a 7-4 count.

The usually explosive Irish were done in by the stingy Virginia Cavaliers last weekend, as Notre Dame was held to season-lows of 56 points and .339 shooting efficiency. While most of the roster struggled against Virginia, Pat Connaughton had a strong outing, posting 21 points and eight rebounds. Demetrius Jackson and V.J. Beachem each chipped in 12 points, but leading scorer Jerian Grant had a rough outing, going just 2-of-8 from the field and finishing with a mere six points.

Although the Cavaliers smothered the Irish, it wasn't an anomaly as Virginia has done that to everyone this season. Despite the rather poor performance, Notre Dame is still regarded as one of the top offensive squads in the nation. The team leads the nation in field-goal percentage (..535), ranks fifth in scoring margin (+20.9) and second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.66). Grant is a big part of that. The team's top playmaker, Grant is averaging 16.6 points, 3.9 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game. There is plenty of scoring depth behind him, as Zach Auguste (14.3 ppg), Connaughton (14.3 ppg) and Jackson (14.1 ppg) all have a knack for filling up the basket.

Georgia Tech has certainly been competitive in conference play even if there are no wins to show for it. The Yellow Jackets took Notre Dame to two overtime sessions, lost to Syracuse by a single point (46-45) and dropped a seven-point decision on the road to Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons owned large advantages in rebounding (41-29) and free-throw scoring (19-8), two crucial facets of the game last time out. Still, four Yellow Jackets notched double digits in the loss in Winston-Salem, led by junior swingman Marcus Georges-Hunt's 16 points. Senior center Demarco Cox poured in 14 points, while sophomore forward Quinton Stephens and junior forward Charles Mitchell finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The Yellow Jackets are fueled by solid defensive play this season, holding foes to just 63.7 ppg, while owning an impressive +9.4 rebounding margin. Offensively, there aren't any game-changers on the roster. Georges-Hunt paces the team with 13.3 ppg, despite shooting a mere .406 from the field. Mitchell is a much more efficient .544 shooter, and averages 11.1 points and team-best 7.8 rebounds per game. Cox (9.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg) provides serviceable depth in the frontcourt.

The Yellow Jackets almost knocked off Notre Dame in South Bend a couple of weeks ago and will try to use McCamish Pavilion to their favor here. However, the Irish are coming off a loss. Don't expect Grant to remain in a funk very long.