SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Miami had no answer for surging Notre Dame center Zach Auguste.
Fortunately, for the seventh-ranked Hurricanes, they had a counter for just about everything else the Irish threw at them Wednesday night at Purcell Pavilion.
Miami jumped to a 12-0 start and led by as many as 18 in the first half, then had few anxious moments thereafter on its way to a 68-50 victory over the Fighting Irish.
The Hurricanes (24-5, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) are in position to at least share the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title with North Carolina.
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Miami visits Virginia Tech (17-13, 9-8) in its regular-season finale Saturday, while the Tar Heels (24-6, 13-4) wrap up Saturday at Duke (22-8, 11-6).
"Our guys were just very, very determined," Miami coach Jim Larranaga said. "They knew where they are in the standings. They know how close we are to finishing this regular season on a very high note."
Notre Dame (19-10, 10-7) was in the title mix until the nation's No. 1 team in offensive efficiency per the Pomeroy Adjusted Offensive Efficiency Index slipped into an offensive funk during a recent three-game road trip. The Irish lost two of three against three teams in the lower half of the league standings.
Save Auguste, who reached double digits in scoring for the ninth straight game and recorded his 17th double-double on the season (18 points, 11 rebounds), those offensive woes continued. The Irish need to win at home Saturday against North Carolina State and also need some help from North Carolina against Duke to gain a double bye in next week's ACC Tournament.
Against the Hurricanes, Notre Dame was one point off its lowest point total of three seasons of ACC membership, its 34 percent shooting from the field virtually matching its worst performance in an ACC game, and its 17 field goals tied for the fewest.
Auguste was 6 of 9 from the field against Miami. The rest of the Irish were a collective 11-for-41 (.268).
"They may win the National Championship," ND coach Mike Brey offered of Miami. "They are really good, and they are really old. Their men were playing against our boys for most of the night."
Miami, with its best shooting team in 27 years, had four players score in double figures, led by guard Angel Rodriguez's 19 points. He also led a smothering Miami perimeter defense that held ND's leading scorer, point guard, Demetrius Jackson to seven points on 3-of-13 shooting.
"He's the catalyst," Larranaga said. "A catalyst is somebody who make things happen. They don't wait for things to happen.
"And he does it with his defense. He does it with his ball handling. And when he's in control, our whole team seems to function better."
The Irish, who were shooting for their 15th win over a top-10 team in Brey's tenure, have lost back-to-back games for the first time since the end of the 2013-14 season. The school-record, 68-game streak of not enduring consecutive losses was snapped.
Brey, looking to rouse a suddenly stagnant offense, tweaked his starting lineup by inserting A.J. Burgett. The senior, who was averaging six minutes of playing time, had made only two previous starts this season and seven for his career.
The experiment lasted just four minutes, and Burgett finished with all zeros in his stat line.
Miami's Sheldon McClellan scored 17 points, Tonye Jekiri had 14, and Davon Reed contributed 10. Bonzie Colson had 11 points for the Irish.
"I thought we were more physical than them," Rodriguez said. "It seemed like we wanted it more. And also I think we did a good job of not letting the crowd get into the game.
"Notre Dame always plays with much more energy at home, and we just accepted the challenge and executed the game plan."
NOTES: Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly and offensive coordinator Mike Sanford had courtside seats for the game. ... Miami was coming off its first back-to-back wins over top-15 opponents in school history (then-No. 3 Virginia and No. 11 Louisville). ... Miami sixth man sophomore G Ja'Quan Newton (10.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg) sat out the game as part of a three-game suspension that continues for the regular-season finale at Virginia Tech on Saturday.
