23. Cards on the Table

LOUISVILLE – Glenn & Stacey Murphy Notre Dame Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry is looking for his squad to piece it together for a complete 40 minutes and bring some grittiness and toughness on the road. This coming Wednesday night presents another opportunity and another tall task courtesy of the ACC. The Fighting Irish (11-11, 2-7) will battle No. 20 Louisville (15-6, 5-4) on the road inside the KFC Yum Center at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

The Irish are looking to capture their third road win of the season, which would tie last year’s mark. Notre Dame is 5-13 all-time at Louisville, but has won two straight there; though, Wednesday’s matchup will mark the first at Louisville with them under Pat Kelsey. The two sides are tied at 7-7 in the series since joining the ACC.

The Cardinals are coming off a 1-1 week in which they lost 52-83 to #4 Duke, but bounced back with an 88-74 victory at home vs. SMU. Four Cards average double figures in ACC play, with Ryan Conwell leading the way at 18.9 ppg.

Haslam Analytics breakdown: “Louisville’s potent offense scores roughly 125 points for every 100 possessions, rated No. 16 in offensive efficiency. Louisville lives and dies by the three-ball and will launch from long-distance early and often. The team ranks first in ratio of three-point attempts to total field goal attempts. If you do allow them to shoot from long, they have the ability to punish you for it, too. Ranked in the top-75 in three-point shooting percentage, they make approximately 37.0% of their three-point attempts.”

If successful, Notre Dame would achieve a Quad 1 win with Louisville’s NET at 17. Wednesday also marks another opportunity for the Irish to earn their first ranked win of the season and first true road ranked victory since knocking off #9/6 Duke on Jan. 16, 2016.

LOOKING BACK AT LAST WEEK

Let’s start with the 97-100 heartbreaking double overtime loss to #17 Virginia. It was a game in which the Irish tasted victory on multiple occasions: ND built a 19-point first-half lead, fell into a four-point deficit in the second half, rallied back to go up six points with two minutes remaining, had a shot at the end of regulation to walk it off, and then was one defensive stand away at the end of the first overtime.

“Not into moral victories, but we are about the process. We are about using every opportunity to learn and get better,” Glenn & Stacey Murphy Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry said. “These dudes keep coming, keep fighting, keep competing and try to play their best basketball as the season goes on. I wanted this so bad for them with how hard they’re working. They put it out there, all on the line, against a really good team.”

Cole Certa went off with a career high 34 points on 10-19 shooting from the floor, 5-13 from three and 9-11 from the free-throw line. Certa’s 34 points are the most by a Notre Dame player against an AP-ranked team since Nov. 26, 2008, when Kyle McAlarney scored 39 in a loss to No. 1 UNC. His 34 points were also the third most by a Notre Dame player in an ACC game, trailing just Markus Burton (43 vs Cal) and Matt Farrell (37 vs Boston College).

The game also witnessed a tremendous showing from freshman Brady Koehler. The 6-10 forward out of Fishers, Indiana, dropped his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Koehler also recorded a season-high three steals and a season-high tying four blocks.

At Syracuse on Jan. 31, the Irish just couldn’t get over the hump in the 2nd half, whether it was piecing it together defensively, or a critical error that served as an offensive rally killer.

Case in point, a Certa three-pointer would cut the deficit to eight points, but an Irish technical led to a 5-point Syracuse swing that would balloon into a 14-point Syracuse lead. Later, another Certa triple brought the Irish within six for the first time since the 11:13 mark of the first half, making it a 60-66 ballgame. Yet the wave of momentum was quickly seized when a Syracuse three at the shot clock buzzer sparked a 9-0 run, resulting in a 15-point deficit.

Jalen Haralson recorded a superb 2nd half, missing only one shot and scoring 19 points. He finished with a career high of 26.

HOT HANDS OF LATE

Jalen Haralson is currently on the best stretch of his season. The super freshman has totaled 63 points (21.0 ppg) over the last 3 games on a blazing hot 63.9% shooting (23-36 FG). He’s also produced a team-best 13 assists in that span.

Looking at Jalen’s last week alone:

• 1st 20-point ACC game with 20 vs. #17 Virginia.
• Followed that with a career high 26 points at Syracuse, with 19 coming in the 2nd half on 6-7 shooting.

Then there’s Braeden Shrewsberry, who follows pretty closely behind. Braeden has amassed 57 points (19.0 ppg) over the last 3 games on 45.5% shooting (20-44 FG).

Braeden’s last week:

• At Syracuse: 17 points behind 3 triples & 3-4 from two.
• #17 Virginia — Scored 15 of his 18 points in the 1st half, where he was 4-4 from three, 5-8 overall.

FRESHMAN STANDOUT JALEN HARALSON

With such a talented ACC freshman class, Notre Dame freshman guard Jalen Haralson has flown a little under the national radar, and we are here to sing his praises. Haralson is currently averaging 15.5 ppg, which ranks fifth amongst ACC freshmen. He’s registered double-digit points in all but 2 games and is coming off back-to-back 20+ point performances.

He averages a team-best 16.7 ppg in ACC play, shooting an efficient 52.4% from the floor. That field goal percentage ranks 9th in the league.

Jalen has been consistent no matter the opponent, for the 6-7 guard is averaging 15.7 ppg against ranked opposition.

Jalen is strong and shifty when attacking the rim, converting 70.0% from within 4.5 feet. The Fishers, Indiana, native shoots 53.2% overall from two-point range, in addition to leading the team in free throw attempts (6.1 per game).

Two performances in particular have stood above the rest, starting with his career high 26 points at Syracuse. Jalen only missed one shot in the 2nd half where he totaled 19 of those points.

Then, back on December 5, Jalen played hero at TCU, hitting a buzzer-beater to force overtime. 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. Other ND greats over the last three decades to match Jalen’s stat line of 20 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists and 1 block: Jerian Grant in 2015 / Chris Thomas 3x (twice in 2002 and once in 2005).

SHREWSBERRY LEADING FROM THREE

Braeden Shrewsberry continues to prove he’s one of the best from deep, ranking 2nd in the ACC in three-point shooting percentage at 41.8%. That number also ranks 28th in the country. He’s converting 2.8 made threes per game, which ranks 4th in the league.

Shrewsberry’s sweet spot? The corner three – where he’s draining 55.6%, which is 19.8% above the Division I average.

Braeden opened the Virginia game with a 4-4 start from three, pouring in 15 of his 18 points in the first half.

Against Miami on Jan. 13, Braeden reached the 200 career made threes milestone, becoming the 14th Irish player all-time to do so. He now sits at 211 in his career.

His best performance from beyond the arc came against Evansville when Shrewsberry scored a career-high 26 points behind a career-high 8 three pointers, shooting 80% from three (8-10). His 8 made triples tied for the 7th most in a game all-time in program history.

TEAM POSITIVES

“I love our growth and connectivity as a group. I love this team’s togetherness,” Coach Shrewsberry stated. “I think there are small things that we can still get better at to make a difference moving forward with these remaining games.”

– Against Boston College, Notre Dame erased a 13-point deficit, marking not only their largest comeback of the season, but their third double-digit comeback victory of the year. Notre Dame outscored Boston College, 44-29, in the 2nd half, where they shot 50% from the field. The 44 points were the most ND had scored in any half of an ACC game this season.

Braeden Shrewsberry finished with a game-high 22 points, marking his second-highest scoring output of the season. The junior found success driving into the paint & midrange, making 6-8 from two. Though Shrewsberry’s biggest shot of the night was a three-pointer with 1:26 remaining to push the Irish up five.

– From halftime of Boston College to now, the Irish have shot 48.6% from the field, up from their season average of 45.0%. Since halftime of BC, they have scored 40+ points in a half 3 times out of a possible 5.

– Free throw shooting has seen a slight improvement as well; in fact, it was a strong asset against Virginia, where they went 28-34 aka 82.4%. The 28 made free throws were a season high. Over the last week, ND raised its free-throw percentage from 68.8% to 69.9%.

SEEKING RECORD BOOK #1

Notre Dame fans know Cole Certa can get hot from three and light up the scoreboard in multiple fashions, but I bet they don’t know that the sophomore guard is one of the best free-throw shooters in the nation. Certa currently ranks 11th in the country & 1st in the ACC from the stripe.

Certa started the year 27-27 from the free-throw line and is now an impressive 60-65 (92.3%).

If he can keep up this pace from the line, he would rank first all-time for a season at Notre Dame. The current placeholder is Steve Vasturia at 91.0%.

KOEHLER SHOWING HIS POTENTIAL

Freshman Brady Koehler produced a career high 17 points at Virginia Tech, pouring in 15 in the 2nd half. Overall, he was 5-7 from the field, plus 2-3 from three & 5-6 from the stripe. Since that performance, Koehler has started in 4 straight.

Fast forward to Virginia on Jan. 27 and the freshman impressed yet again. Koehler was all over the stat sheet, recording his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds (career high). He got it done from the free-throw line where he was a personal best 9-10. He also tied his career high of 4 blocks and set a new high for steals with 3.

Koehler is shooting 50.0% from two-point, but he’ been at his best in the midrange, where he’s 53.8%.

But don’t let the 6-10 frame fool you, for Koehler can knock it down from three. He may own fewer three-point attempts than most of his Notre Dame teammates, but with that said, he boasts the 2nd best three-point shooting percentage at 38.7%.

Lastly, Koehler is averaging 7.2 points in ACC play on 46.5% shooting, plus 7-17 (41.2%) from three.

REBOUNDING TRANSLATES

Towt’s current rebounding rankings:

• 9.5 rpg ranks 26th nationally, 4th in the ACC
• 3.7 offensive rpg – 1st in ACC/14th in country
• 5.9 defensive rpg – 5th in ACC
• 1,288 career rebounds – leads all active players
• His 1,288 career rebounds have pushed him into the top-100 all-time list at #91.

— ND —