Notre Dame senior standout Bonzie Colson, who has missed 15 games because of a broken left foot, will start Wednesday on Senior Night in South Bend, Ind., against Pittsburgh, the university announced.

The preseason All-American's return comes at a crucial time. After Notre Dame (17-12, 7-9 in the ACC) faces the Panthers (8-22, 0-17), it finishes the regular season Saturday at No. 1 Virginia (26-2, 15-1).

Irish coach Mike Brey is hopeful his team can fare well in the two regular-season games and then next week in the ACC Tournament in Brooklyn.

"We want to make things interesting for the NCAA Tournament (selection) committee," Brey said (via ESPN.com). "We need to show some life and play well in Brooklyn. … We were so fractured during the season. I just hope we give the committee a lot to talk about."

Clearly, the Irish are better with Colson's return. Notre Dame was 11-3 with him in the lineup but is 6-9 since he went out with the broken foot suffered in practice.

He averaged 21.4 points and 10.4 rebounds per game before the injury.