24. Late Night Hoops in Boston

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Ring the bell because it’s time for round two between Notre Dame men’s hoops and Boston College. The Fighting Irish (10-13, 4-8) will look to build some confidence when they return to action on Wednesday night at the Conte Forum vs. Boston College (10-13, 2-10). That match will tip off at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The Irish can complete a season sweep after successfully dispatching the Eagles, 78-60, at home on January 13.

Tae Davis was the man of the match with 26 points on 9-14 shooting. Markus Burton supplied 20 points on 5-15 shooting, plus 9-10 from the stripe. Kebba Njie nearly got another double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Another MVP was Julian Roper II who led the team in +/- today with +26. The Irish tied their season high in offensive boards (17) and recorded a season-best in second-chance points (25). Defensively, the Irish achieved a season-high in steals with 13.

Notre Dame leads the overall series against Boston College, 28-13. The win last month broke a four-game skid against the Eagles in the series. The two are tied 10-all in games played in Chestnut Hill.

The Irish look to complete their first season sweep against BC since 2019.

OVERCOMING 2ND HALF WOES

To get back into the win column, the Irish need to get over their second-half mental hurdle. The recent close loss to Virginia Tech marked Notre Dame’s third consecutive game in which they had built a double-digit lead in the first half only to falter down the stretch for a close loss.

When looking a little further back, the Syracuse and NC State losses followed the same script of first-half scoring flexes of double-digit leads followed by second-half droughts.

Just like last season, the Irish have been in every ACC game. Case in point, their average margin of defeat has been just 5.5.   

BURTON AMONGST NATION’S TOP SCORERS

After 39 days away rehabbing his knee injury, Burton returned on Jan. 4 and he’s been playing his best ball since. The sophomore fired off five consecutive games with 20 or more points in January, which hadn’t been done by an Irish player since Ben Hansbrough in February of 2011. In fact, Burton has produced 20+ points in eight of his 10 games since his return.

With that said, he’s averaging 22.1 ppg in ACC play which just surpassed Duke’s Cooper Flagg for tops in the league.

Overall on the year he’s averaging 20.6 ppg which places him 10th nationally. For perspective, the last Irish player to finish a season with a 20.0+ ppg average was Luke Harangody (21.8 ppg) in the 2009-10 season.

Now here’s the kicker. If you take out his two-point Rutgers injury game in which he departed four minutes in, Burton’s average would be 21.9 ppg which would rank him third nationally.

CHASING ACHIEVEMENTS

Burton is quickly approaching 1,000 career points. He enters the BC matchup at 907. He is currently on pace to become the seventh fastest Irish player to reach 1,000 career points. He would become the program’s 68th 1,000-point scorer which would move Notre Dame into fourth place for most 1,000 point scorers behind UNC, Duke and Louisville.

Burton is also seeking to be in rare Irish company. He is currently averaging 20.6 ppg and a team best 2.9 apg. If Burton can get the assist average above three, he’ll join David Rivers as the only Irish players to average 20+ points and 3+ assists in a season.

However, Burton isn’t the only one who can cement his name in the Irish record books this season. Grad transfer Matt Allocco owns a 3.76 assist-to-turnover ratio – the highest in program history for a season was 3.16 by Martin Inglesby back in 2000-01.

Allocco is also converting a career-high 47.3 percent from deep. That number currently ranks second all-time for a season. The top spot belongs to Joe Fredrick who shot 52.1 percent in 1988-89.

• BEST TWO GUARDS / BEST BIG THREE

With Burton averaging 20.6 ppg and Shrewsberry checking in at 13.7, we were curious where that stacked up amongst guard combos in the ACC. The answer – first. Their combined 34.3 tops Pitt’s 33.0 (Lowe/Leggett) and Duke’s 33.0 (Flagg/Knueppel).

So then that got us thinking, where do ND’s big three of Burton, Shrewsberry and Davis (15.6 ppg) stack up amongst other ACC big threes – regardless of position. The answer was yet again number one.

The Irish trio are a combined 49.3 ppg, which is tied with Stanford’s trio of Raynaud/Blakes/Sellers 49.3.

THREE BALL HEATING UP

The Irish worked hard in the offseason to improve from beyond the arc and it’s showing. In ACC play, Notre Dame is converting 38.9 percent from deep, which ranks second. For perspective, the Irish converted 33.4 percent in league play last year.

Overall on the year, the Irish have drained 37.1 percent from deep which ranks 41st in the country and fifth in the ACC.

Allocco, Shrewsberry and Burton have been leading the three barrage, but Burton specifically has stepped up his game. He went from 30.0 percent from three-point range last year to 41.6 percent this season. He’s tied his career high of four made triples three times since returning Jan. 4 In fact, he’s converting 45.1% from deep in ACC play.

Furthermore, Burton’s 2.3 threes per game in league play rank eighth while Shrewsberry’s 2.8 rank fifth.

THE TAE-KOVER

Tae Davis should be a candidate for Most Improved. He’s averaging a career best 15.6 ppg, up from last year’s 9.2 ppg. His scoring average ranks 12th amongst ACC players. The Indy native is also shooting a career best 49.4 percent, which ranks fourth in the league in overall games.

The junior has been highly proficient around the rim where he’s 82-of-122 (.672). He’s also improved from the free-throw line where he’s converted a career best 76.2 percent.

In ACC play, Tae is averaging 15.3 ppg on 47.5 percent shooting.

EVOLVING

We’ve already mentioned Tae Davis’ emergence but we’ve also seen Braeden Shrewsberry’s evolution. The sophomore guard is averaging 13.7 ppg, up from last year’s 10.2. He’s shooting 41.4 percent, which is up from last year’s 39.8.

He’s connecting on 2.7 threes per game this season, with a .357 clip from beyond the arc. Shrewsberry’s sweet spot has been the corner three where he’s 14-31 (.452). Shrewsberry is connecting on 38.4 percent from deep in ACC play, which ranks seventh.

However, Braeden is more than just a three-point shot, take his floater for instance. He’s added to his arsenal and is shooting 51.0 percent from two-point range. Specifically, he is shooting 46.2 percent from the midrange.

NOTRE NOTABLES.

• Burton has been ramping up his defensive pressure. He now ranks third in the ACC in steals/game at 1.9.
• Notre Dame was a perfect 16-16 from the free-throw line against Virginia Tech on Feb. 8. It marked the third best free-throw shooting percentage game in program history.
• Allocco boasts a true shooting percentage of 61.0 on the year.
• Kebba entered the year with just four double-digit scoring performances to his name. He posted two in the month of January, including his first career double-double at NC State.
• Speaking of Kebba, the junior is averaging 2.6 offensive rebounds/game in ACC play, which ranks seventh.
• Garrett Sundra has made 4 of his last 6 from the field. He’s shooting 57.9 from the floor and 6-12 from three.
• Burton is shooting 47.3 percent from two-point range.