13. Tipping Off Before The Ball Drops - Georgia Tech

ATLANTA – The extended breaks between games is no more. It’s ACC season for Notre Dame men’s basketball as they tip off league play on the final day of the year. The Fighting Irish (7-5, 1-0) head to Atlanta to battle the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (6-7, 0-2) on Tuesday, Dec. 31, at 2:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network. The Irish look to achieve their first 2-0 ACC start since the 2017-18 season.

IT’S ALWAYS CLOSE

Notre Dame will kickstart non-stop ACC play with a team they’ve waged epic battles with over time. The Irish lead the overall series 18-13 and executed a perfect 3-0 sweep over Georgia Tech last season, which included an 84-80 victory in Washington D.C. in the opening round of the ACC Tournament. But that doesn’t paint the whole picture of this rivalry.

Twenty-one of the last 23 games between these two have been decided by single digits. Five of those games have gone to overtime. Of those 21 games that have been decided by single digits, the average margin of victory has been 4.9.

It was the usual suspects who performed best against the Yellow Jackets last season. In the three wins, both Braeden Shrewsberry and Markus Burton averaged 17.0 ppg, while Tae Davis rounded out those in double-digits with 13.0 ppg. Shrewsberry shot 45.7 percent from the floor and 11-of-25 from deep. Davis shot 51.7 percent from the field and averaged 6.3 rpg. Kebba Njie averaged 7.7 ppg and a team-best 8.3 rpg.

NEW YEAR’S TABLE SETTER

With a win on NYE, the Irish can win their fourth straight, matching their four straight to start the season. They can also pick up a coveted road ACC win which would move Notre Dame to 2-0 in ACC play for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign. That year they started 3-0 with wins over Georgia Tech, NC State and Syracuse.

Also both Braeden Shrewsberry and Tae Davis are riding career-best double-digit scoring streaks heading into the match. Shrewsberry has produced eight in a row, averaging 18.3 ppg in that span. Davis has earned seven straight, averaging 18.1 ppg in said stretch.

BUILDING CONFIDENCE AFTER THREE STRAIGHT WINS

When Markus Burton went down in Vegas, there was no time to practice nor strategize how to play without their All-ACC guard. There was only time to move on to the next game. After Georgia, the Irish finally had time to regroup and learn to play and win without him. Notre Dame banded together and have won three straight, which includes a conference win at home over Syracuse. They’ve been led by the dynamic duo of Shrewsberry and Davis.

Over the last three games, Shrewsberry is averaging 20.3 ppg on 54.1 percent shooting (20-37). He’s 11-of-24 (.458) from three-point range.Davis has produced back-to-back games with 20+ points for the first time of his career. During this three-game win streak, Tae is averaging 19.7 ppg on a blistering 67.7 percent shooting. He’s averaging 6.0 rpg as well.

Since December 7 (last three games for the Irish), Shrewsberry’s scoring average ranks as the fourth highest amongst ACC players while Davis’ ranks sixth.

As a team, the Irish have averaged 79.0 ppg on 48.8 percent shooting over the last three.

MAKING UP POINTS

Before Vegas, Burton was the only player in the country averaging 20+ points, 5+ assists, and 5+ rebounds. Now the Irish continue to work together to make up the 20+ points per game lost along with Burton’s ability to create shots for his teammates.

Two players that have stepped up have been Tae Davis and Braeden Shrewsberry.

Tae has this explosiveness and innate ability to attack the rim like no other on the team. He’s been using that to his advantage and currently averaging a career-best 15.8 ppg on a career-high 53.3 percent shooting. Tae ranks third in the ACC in field goal percentage.

Where is the Indy native getting it done? Well, he’s shooting 43-of-64 (.672) from around the rim. He leads the team in free throw attempts (6.3) and free throws made (4.7) per game. He’s shooting a career-best 74.7 percent from the stripe.

Then there’s Shrewsberry, who is averaging a career-best 16.5 ppg, which ranks ninth in the ACC. In addition, his 2.8 threes per game rank second in the league, while his .354 clip from three ranks fourth. Shrewsberry is hot from corner threes this year, knocking down 47.6 percent (10-for-21), which is 12.9 percent above the D1 average.

So who’s next?

Well there’s Matt Allocco, who is averaging 11.0 ppg since Burton went down. Allocco is shooting a team-best 46.4 percent from deep in that seven-game span.

Allocco also boasts a 4.2 assist-to-turnover ratio which ranks sixth in the nation and leads all ACC players. It’s obviously way too early for comparisons, BUT, the highest A/TO ratio in program history for a season was 3.16 by Martin Inglesby back in 2000-01.

NOTRE NOTABLES

• The Irish have been cleaning up around the glass. They are averaging 27.8 defensive rebounds per game which ranks fourth in the ACC and 45th in the nation.
• Notre Dame is shooting 47.5 percent from the field which ranks fourth in the ACC as well.
• According to HaslamMetrics.com, Notre Dame’s mid-range percentage vs. the average opponent (47.7) is the best it’s been since the 2015-16 squad. Also, Notre Dame’s near proximity percentage vs. the average opponent (63.5) is the highest it’s been since the 2020-21 season.
• Another thing the Irish have done well is create tough three-point looks for its opponents. Notre Dame’s three-point field goal percentage defense of .296 ranks fourth in the ACC. According to HaslamMetrics once again, ND’s three-point percentage allowed against the average opponent (28.4) ranks 12th nationally. That’s the highest ranking they’ve had in that category in a decade.
• Logan Imes recorded a breakout game vs. Le Moyne on Dec. 22. Imes recorded a career high 11 points on 3-5 shooting, plus 5-6 from the free-throw line. He also tied his career high in assists (4) and steals (2).
• Kebba Njie is averaging a career-best 6.8 ppg and a career-high 5.9 rpg.

— ND —