15. Irish Make First Trip to Cal This Friday Night

BERKELEY, Calif. – Notre Dame men’s basketball is California dreamin’ of a 2-0 road swing to start ACC play. If the Fighting Irish are successful on Friday against Cal, it would mark their first 2-0 start in the ACC since the 2017-18 season (they started 3-0).

Notre Dame improved to 10-4 overall after a 47-40 win at Stanford, while Cal dropped to 12-2 overall after a 70-90 loss to Louisville. Friday’s game will mark Notre Dame’s first trip to Berkeley and first game inside Haas Pavilion. The Irish lead the overall series 2-1.

Notre Dame ended its regular season last March with a 112-110 four-overtime victory against Cal. Markus Burton was one of the many heroes that night, dropping a career-high 43 points.

This year’s version of Cal has found success converting the three-ball and forcing turnovers. They rank 2nd in the ACC in three-point field goal percentage (.385) and third in the league in forced turnovers (9.9). Four Golden Bears are averaging double figures, led by Dai Dai Ames’ 17.2 ppg.

Lastly, California marks another great opportunity for a potential Quad 1 victory.

1-0 START

Coach Shrewsberry improved to 2-1 overall in ACC openers after Notre Dame’s defensive intensity led to a 47-40 win at Stanford.

”That was the defensive effort that we’ve put in since we’ve gotten back from Christmas,” said Irish coach Micah Shrewsberry. “That’s how we need to play. If we shoot it well (they didn’t), if we don’t shoot it well, if we guard that way we’ve got a chance to win every night. We are a full team defense.”

With the Quad 2 win, the Irish jumped eight spots in the NET from 76 to 68.

The Irish held the Cardinal to their third-lowest scoring output since 1996. They also kept Stanford’s best scorer in check, Ebuka Okorie, who averaged 22.8 points heading into the game, only to be held to a season low seven points.

Jalen Haralson recorded his 12th straight game in double figures, but it was two young forwards who stepped up in the second half. First, Brady Koehler recorded a stretch in which he scored seven straight. Then, Garrett Sundra played hero in the final six minutes. When the Cardinal pulled within four late, the sophomore hit clutch back-to-back threes.

And Maples Pavilion has not been an easy place to earn a win – Stanford was 24-5 at home since the start of the 2024-25 season, with just one ACC home loss before that night.

WHO’S HOT?

With Markus Burton on the mend, the ball has been put in the hands of freshman Jalen Haralson, and he has delivered. The Indiana native has dropped 20 or more points in three of the last five games. He’s leading the Irish in scoring (16.8 ppg) and assists (3.6 apg) in that five-game span, in which he’s 31-71 from the field (.437).

One of those big time performances was the TCU overtime victory and it was Jalen himself who hit the buzzer beater in regulation. Down two with three seconds remaining, Haralson hit a step-back fadeaway jumper to tie it at 76-all. Haralson finished the night with 20 points & a career high 9 assists.

MORE THAN JUST REBOUNDING

Carson Towt is 23-33 (.697) from the floor over the past five games. He’s averaging a near double-double in that span at 9.6 points & 10.0 rebounds.

During that stretch, the graduate recorded a season-high 19 points against Idaho, in what was his third double-double of the season (15 rebounds). He also scored 13 points in the big road win at TCU, in which he was a perfect 6-6 from the floor, to go with his 9 boards & 4 assists.

Towt is fresh off an 8-point, 10-rebound performance at Stanford in which he was 4-7 from the floor.

SHREWSBERRY DIALED IN

Braeden Shrewsberry is also filling the scoring hole that is Burton and has produced five games in double figures over the last six.

Braeden shot 51.2% from three over five games in December – that number was the fifth-best three-point field goal percentage that month for anyone with at least 20 made threes.

Over the last five games specifically: 13.6 ppg (2nd best on team) on 46.0% shooting from the floor and 18-37 (.486) from three. During that stretch was a career-high 26 point performance on a career-high 8 made three pointers. His 8 made triples tied for the 7th most in a game all-time in program history.

Overall on the season, Braeden is converting triples at a 46.2 percent rate, which ranks second in the ACC & 24th in the nation. He’s converting 3.0 made threes per game, which ranks third in the league.

REBOUNDING TRANSLATES

Towt’s current rebounding rankings:

• 10.1 rpg ranks 17th nationally, 2nd in the ACC
• 3.6 offensive rpg – 2nd in the ACC
• 6.5 defensive rpg – 5th in the ACC
• 142 total boards – 6th nationally, 2nd in the ACC
• 1,220 career rebounds – leads all active players

NOTRE NOTABLES

• The Irish are 12 wins away from 2,000 all-time. They would become the eighth program to achieve this feat.
• Haralson currently ranks 7th amongst ACC freshmen in scoring at 14.5 ppg
• Notre Dame is 7-2 this season in which Braeden scores 10 or more points.
• Logan Imes earned a career high 12 points vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (12/21). He shot 5-10 from the floor, including 2 triples. He also grabbed a career best 4 steals. He followed that with his first start of the season, with his primary duty of shutting down a top-5 scorer in the country in Ebuka Okorie.
• Certa is a perfect 27-27 from the FT line. This marks the most free throws made of any Division I player who has not missed this season.
• In the last two Notre Dame wins, Njie has amassed 19 rebounds, including a season best of 10 against Evansville.
• Mark Zackery IV made his debut against Stanford on Dec. 30, and instantly put himself in rare air, defeating the same school in both football and basketball in the same season.
• Sir Mohammed is shooting 50.0% in the paint this season.
• Kenpom Rating: Offense 112.6 (101st) & Defense 99.3 (38th).

— ND —