16. A Road Test at Georgia Tech

ATLANTA – The long six-game homestand is over and the Notre Dame men’s basketball team will hit the road for the first time since Dec. 9. With that though means a new opportunity. The Fighting Irish (6-9, 1-3) and Coach Shrewsberry can earn their first true road win of the season when they travel to Atlanta to battle Georgia Tech (8-6, 1-2). It’ll be a late tip inside McCamish Pavilion on Tuesday night, with the game starting at 9 p.m. ET on the ACC Network.

ALWAYS A CLOSE BATTLE

The all-time series between Notre Dame and Georgia Tech has always been a battle. The Irish own a slight 15-13 advantage but every game (outside of one outlier) since joining the ACC in 2013, has been a tight decision. Case in point, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech have squared off a total of 20 times since 2013, 18 of those games have been decided by single digits, with 13 of them being 5 points or less. The average margin of victory in that span (if you take out the 34-point win on 2/26/22) – 4.7 points.  Three times the rivalry since 2013 has gone to overtime, with the Irish winning all three. Last year, Notre Dame dropped a 70-68 decision in Atlanta on 2/8/23.

This season’s Georgia Tech squad enters with an 8-6 overall mark and 1-2 record in league play. The Yellow Jackets defeated Duke at home back on Dec. 2, then lost back-to-back games against Florida State and Boston College. They are led by a trio of double-digit scorers in Miles Kelly (14.9 ppg), Kowacie Reeves (12.5) and Baye Ndongo (12.3), as the latter has been a three-time ACC Rookie of the Week.

LEFT ON THE TABLE

It was three straight ACC games at home to essentially kick off league play. After a big win over Virginia to start the homestand, the Irish know they left two on the table and could easily be sitting at 3-1. A slight difference maker in both those losses were missed opportunities at the free-throw line.

First, it was NC State. The Wolfpack shot 28.8 percent from the field and finished with 54 points – just two more than their season low. On the flip side, Notre Dame had a six-point lead with 2:10 left on the clock. Then adversity hit. The next four possessions consisted of two turnovers and two misses on the front end of a one-and-one from the free-throw line. It all resulted in a Wolfpack 8-0 run to end the game to escape with the win.

Then there was No. 14/13 Duke. The Fighting Irish held the Blue Devils to a season low in both points and shooting percentage but ultimately fell by the slim margin of 67-59. The Irish had a lead as large as nine in the first half, but the Blue Devils stormed into halftime on a 14-3 scoring run, which was extended to 19-3 at the start of the second half. The Irish would continue to fight hard throughout, rallying down eight points to cut the deficit to just two with 2:44 remaining. Notre Dame and Duke took the same amount of shots (59) with the Irish converting two more (23). ND also won the rebounding battle 42-40. A difference maker came on the free-throw line in which Duke went 17-of-21 to Notre Dame’s 8-of-16.

1ST YEAR STAMP ON THE PROGRAM – DEFENSE

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.

Despite the 1-3 ACC record, the Notre Dame defense has done its part in all four games. The Irish held Miami, Virginia, NC State and Duke to under their season averages, all by double-digit points. In fact, Miami and Duke both posted season lows at the time. For more details please reference the full chart below.

Furthermore, in 10 of the last 12 games, the Irish have allowed 65 points or fewer in regulation. In fact, an Irish opponent has not recorded 70 points or more since Georgetown on Dec. 16 (five game streak).    

With that said, Notre Dame’s scoring defense of 64.9 now ranks 2nd in the ACC and 45th in the country. According to KenPom, our defensive efficiency ranks 57th.

*season low

HITTING THE MARK

Point guard Markus Burton has put his name amongst the top freshmen in the country with his stellar play thus far. For those who aren’t acquainted with the local standout from Mishawaka, here are some quick hitters:

• His 16.2 ppg leads all ACC freshmen and ranks 4th nationally amongst DI freshmen.
• He is 1-of-2 freshmen in the country averaging over 15 points and 3.5 assists. 1-of-4 players in the ACC of any class.
• If the season ended today, Burton’s 16.2 ppg would rank 3rd all-time in the ND freshman record book. The two in front of him – Adrian Dantley (18.3) and Troy Murphy (19.2).
• Burton leads the team with 13 double-digit scoring games.
• Ranks 11th in the ACC in scoring, 8th in Assists (3.9), 14th in steals (1.4) and 9th in FT% (.833).
• Averaging 5.5 assists in ACC play only which ranks 3rd.

FIRST SIGNATURE WIN

It took just the second ACC game of his career but Coach Shrewsberry delivered that first signature win in Notre Dame’s 76-54 victory over Virginia. What Shrews’ crew accomplished had never been done by an Irish crew against Virginia .. ever. It was the largest margin of victory against the Cavaliers in the all-time series. In addition, the 76 points were the most scored by an Irish squad against the Cavaliers in regulation in program history. Furthermore, the Irish handed Virginia its biggest loss to an ACC opponent since 2017 (65-41 loss to No. 10 UNC on Feb. 18, 2017).

#TRENDING

• Burton has produced 8 straight games in double figures, totaling 139 points (17.4 ppg).  He’s also averaging 4.3 assists in that span.
• Braeden Shrewsberry was back in double figures with a 12-point performance against Duke. Shrewsberry tied his season high with four made threes, going 3-for-4 in the second half.

TABLE OR BOOTH

Carey Booth has started 4 straight games and the Irish have gone 2-2 with a near 4-0 record. The freshman is averaging the second most points in that short span at 9.0 ppg. He’s also averaging 6.5 rpg.

Booth was a man possessed in the second half of the Virginia contest. The 6-10 forward scored 14 points from the 11:11 mark to 4:54 on the clock. He finished with a team-high 17.

— ND —