10. Holiday Hoops Against the Hoyas

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – When game number 10 rolls around on Saturday, the Notre Dame men’s basketball team (4-5) will have two reasons to be merry – finals will have concluded for the fall semester and a six-game homestand commences. It marks the first time in four years in which the Irish will have six straight games inside Purcell Pavilion. Up first, none other than another old Big East foe, Georgetown (6-4). That match will tip off at 2:15 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 16.

BIG EAST TOUR ROLLS ON

After completing the home-and-home with Marquette on Dec. 9, the Irish will start a new home-and-home on Dec. 16 with Georgetown. The Hoyas lead the series 16-13, but the Irish lead in Purcell at 8-6. The two sides haven’t met since Jan. 21, 2013. The series began back in 1948.

Georgetown enters the contest with a 6-4 record on the year, but 0-1 in true road contests. The Hoyas’ best statistical category is free throw attempts per game, where they rank 39th in the nation and 1st in the Big East at 24.1 per game. Next best category – 65th in three-pointers per game with 8.9.

HITTING THE MARK(US)

Freshman point guard Markus Burton continues to impress in the first part of the 2023-24 season. To help you get more acquainted with the Mishawaka native, read up on the following stats below:

• His 15.7 ppg leads all ACC freshmen and ranks 6th nationally amongst DI freshmen.
• Burton started his career with five straight games in double figures before the streak ended with 8 points at South Carolina. He now leads the team with seven double-digit games.
• Burton picked up his third game of 20 or more points at #8 Marquette on Dec. 9. The following is a list of the most 20-point games by an Irish freshman: Adrian Dantley (13 in ‘73-74), Troy Murphy (10 in ‘98-99) and David Rivers (10 in ‘84-85).
• Only 3 freshmen in the country are averaging over 15 points and 3.5 assists per game: Burton, Harvard’s Malik Mack and USC’s Isaiah Collier.
• Burton ranks 9th in the ACC in Assists (3.7) and 9th in FT% (.857)

#TRENDING

Burton is coming off a stellar individual week in which he totaled 17 points against Western Michigan and 20 points at #8 Marquette. Burton has also upped his assist numbers as of late. He’s dished out 24 over the last five games (4.8 apg in that span).

J.R. Konieczny is emerging as an early season standout for the Irish. He has recorded double-digit points in four of the last seven games. If you take out ND’s first two games and look at that seven-game stretch, Konieczny has since averaged 11.0 points.

ARE YOU REA-TAE FOR IT

Speaking of trending, Tae Davis’s trajectory is shooting up. He had back-to-back games with double-doubles and three straight games in double figures before he ran into a Marquette buzzsaw on Dec. 9.

Coach Shrews has talked often about these guys making the most of their opportunities, whether it’s freshmen in their first year or transfers who haven’t had a chance. Take Davis for example – in the 10th game of the season this Saturday against Georgetown, Davis could already amass more season points this year than what he did his freshman year total at Seton Hall.

With that said, he now averages the second most points (9.4) and the most rebounds (5.8) on the team.

D-UP!

If you are looking for an early Coach Shrewsberry stamp on the program, look no further than the defensive effort by this young Irish squad. The Marquette game brought an end to a five-game streak in which the defense had only allowed 65 points or fewer. Most notably, limiting the Hurricanes to a season low in points – 24 points fewer than their season average of 86 points per game.

Notre Dame’s scoring defense of 67.3 now ranks 5th in the ACC.

“We can guard, even for a group of freshmen and sophomores,” Coach Shrewsberry said. “They’re believing in what we’re talking about. We’re sitting in a stance and guarding. It’s all positive.”

“We’ve emphasized the defensive end so much,” Shrewsberry said. “We’re guarding people. We’re getting people into the right shots that we want them to take. That part there is what we’ve hung our hat on. It’s given us a chance to be in every game. For a team that doesn’t see the game or understand it defensively yet, we’re really guarding. That’s purely effort right now. Wait until we start understanding what’s going on and seeing it and talking to each other. Holy smokes. We might be OK.”

GREAT OPPORTUNITY AT HOME

Saturday vs. Georgetown marks the 10th game of the season and the Irish have had to compete in a lot of tough matches on the road: Auburn, South Carolina, Marquette and Miami. Now a great opportunity awaits – six straight at home. The last time the Irish had six straight inside Purcell Pavilion -> games 2-7 at the start of the 2019-20 season.

At home, the Irish are averaging 73.0 points on 49.3% shooting from the floor, with a .359 mark from three-point range. Away from Purcell, the Irish are averaging just 56.8 points on 34.2% shooting, with a .212 mark from three.

SECOND HALF SURGE

Speaking of Burton, he’s had a knack for surging at the right moments in the second half. Four times this season, Burton has scored double-digit points in the second half alone: Niagara, Oklahoma State, Western Michigan and Marquette.

Burton is averaging a team-best 8.8 points in the second half.

— ND —