26. Irish Look To Make It Three In A Row

LOUISVILLE – A streak isn’t a streak until three and on Wednesday night the Notre Dame men’s basketball team can win three in a row for the first time this season. The Irish are coming off a weekend bye, but previously produced wins over Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. A win on Wednesday would not only give the Irish double-digit victories on the season, but also move them one step closer to possibly jumping up several seeds for the ACC Tournament, with three teams sitting at six league wins (Boston College, Virginia Tech and Miami).

Notre Dame tips off at Louisville on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

IRISH VS. CARDS

Louisville enters with an 8-18 overall record and a 3-12 mark in league play. The Cards rank 18th in the country in free throws made per game (17.6) and 48th in FT percentage (.755). They average 72.1 ppg in league play, shooting 45.4 percent from the field, though they average just 5.6 made threes per game. They have five players averaging double figures, led by Mike James’ 13.5 ppg, Tre White’s 13.2 and Skyy Clark’s 13.1.

Notre Dame has won three straight against Louisville in the overall series but still trail 17-27. The Irish are 4-13 all-time in Louisville. Last season the Irish took it 76-62 over the Cardinals in South Bend.

LOOKING TO BUILD ON 2 WINS

Coach Shrewsberry saw the growth in his young team, just not the results yet. But on Feb. 10 vs. Virginia Tech, it clicked for the Irish as they emerged with the 74-66 win. Before the game, Coach Shrewsberry talked about how every player had a small role, how if every player did their job, all those small parts would add up to a win over the Hokies.

The Fighting Irish rallied down four at the half to outscore the Hokies 39-27 in the second half. They turned what had been a problem for most of January, which was second half starts, into a strength, starting the second on a 9-0 run. Notre Dame shot 54.2 percent in the second half and finished with their second-highest assist total on the year with 14. They also tallied their second-lowest turnover total at eight and out-rebounded Virginia Tech 34-28.

Then there was the ‘gritty not pretty’ 58-55 victory over Georgia Tech. The Irish shot just 31.6 percent from the field but got it done where it counted: tied season high in offensive rebounds (16), season high in second chance points (20), season high in free-throw attempts (22) and a season low in turnovers (6).

Thus, just 14 combined turnovers over the last two games, which is Notre Dame’s lowest two-game total all year. In fact, it marked the first time they produced back-to-back games with single-digit turnovers.

1ST YEAR STAMP ON THE PROGRAM – DEFENSE

The year one Coach Shrewsberry stamp on the program has been the defensive intensity. 14 games and 10 different ACC opponents – all held under their season averages in every single contest, with Miami and Duke being held to season lows at that point in time.

Of the 14 ACC matchups that have already happened, only three opponents have reached the 70-point park against the Irish defense.

Notre Dame’s scoring defense of 65.3 ranks 2nd in the ACC and 29th in the country. According to KenPom, Notre Dame’s defensive efficiency ranks 40th nationally. In ACC play only, Notre Dame ranks 2nd in scoring defense (64.0) and 2nd in field goal percentage defense (.410).

BURTON LEAVING HIS FRESHMAN YEAR LEGACY

• Virginia Tech – 16 points, 8 assists, 6 steals
• Georgia Tech – 18 points, 5 assists, 5 steals

Since 1996, only one other Irish player had produced two games in the same regular season with at least 15 points, 5 assists and 5 steals. His name was Chris Thomas back in the 2001-02 season. Burton has not only achieved this feat but did so in back-to-back games! Thomas ultimately produced three of such games over his entire Irish career.

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, with the next highest being Duke’s Jared McCain at 13.8.
• Ranks 4th nationally amongst DI freshmen.
• 1-of-2 ACC players averaging over 16 points and 4.0 assists – other is Syracuse’s Judah Mintz.
• ACC freshman rankings: 1st in scoring, 3rd in assists/game, 1st in steals/game.
• Double-digit points in all but 2 games. He’s currently riding an 18-game streak.
• He’s scored at least 16 points in 5 straight games.
• Ranks 10th in the ACC in scoring, 7th in Assists (4.2) and 4th in steals (2.0).
• In ACC play only: 15.7 points (ranks 12th), 4.9 assists (3rd) and leads the league in steals (2.3).
• Averaging 8.4 points in the 2nd half.
• Averaging 17.1 points at home.
• Two-time ACC Rookie of the Week

BURTON WINS 2ND ACC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Markus Burton won his second ACC Rookie of the Week award on Feb. 12. Burton joined Blake Wesley as the only other multi-time ACC Rookie of the Week winner. Burton earned the honor after pouring in a team best 19 points then posting an incredible stat line in the win over Virginia Tech.

Burton balled out with 16 points, a season high tying eight assists and a season best six steals – as the latter tied for the third most steals in a single game in program history.

Burton joined very rare company with that performance. Since 1996, only two other Irish have finished with at least 16 points, eight assists and six steals in a game – Chris Thomas in 2001 and Jerian Grant in 2013.

FRESHMAN RECORD WATCH

We are officially on Burton Freshman Scoring Record watch as we head into the final stretch of the season. The freshman guard enters Wednesday’s matchup with 406 points on the season – which already puts him in the No. 7 spot. Next up is No. 6 Jerian Grant’s 418. To get to No. 1 Troy Murphy’s 519, Burton would have to average 16.2 points over the next seven games.

From a scoring average perspective, Burton’s 16.2 ppg ranks 3rd all-time behind Troy Murphy (19.2) and Adrian Dantley (18.3).

#TRENDING

Here are some other under-the-radar stats to keep an eye out for this week.

• Braeden Shrewsberry is averaging 11.6 ppg in true road contests, shooting 42.5 percent.
• Tae Davis has made 19 of his last 20 from the free-throw line, raising his percentage from .618 to its current .707.
• Coming off the bench on Feb. 10, Logan Imes scored all 8 of his season-high points in the 2nd half in the win vs. Virginia Tech. He went 3-for-4 from the line (final 1:14 of the game) and hit a pivotal three-pointer with 7:23 left.

IN YOUR BAG

Speaking of trending, Markus Burton has ratcheted up his defensive intensity down the final stretch. The starting point guard has collected 21 steals over the last 5 games. He now averages a team-best 2.0 steals per game, which ranks 4th in the ACC.

Furthermore, his 2.3 steals/game in league play now leads all ACC players.

SHREWSBERRY’S HOT HAND

Braeden Shrewsberry has secured 8 double-digit scoring performances over the last 11 games. Get this – since Jan. 6, Shrewsberry is averaging 3.0 made threes per game, which ranks 4th in the ACC in that timeframe. Furthermore, he’s produced at least four made three-pointers in three of the last six games.

One of those double-digit scoring games was when Shrewsberry put the team on his back with a season best 25 points in the OT win at Georgia Tech. He connected on a season high five made three pointers.

He’s now averaging 10.5 points in ACC play (2nd most on team), while shooting 40.2 percent from the field & 40.7 percent from beyond the arc – ranks 7th in ACC. Lastly, he averages 2.6 made threes/game in league play, which ranks 5th.

BOARDS BATTLE

One of Notre Dame’s greatest strengths this season has been its rebounding. In ACC play, the Irish rank 2nd in rebounding (37.1) and 4th in rebound margin (+3.4). In addition, they rank 3rd in both offensive (10.4) rebounds per game and defensive (26.7).

The Irish are 8-6 this season when outrebounding their opponent.

Logan Imes has also upped his rebounding efforts. After amassing 23 rebounds over a 12-game span from Dec. 2 to Jan. 27 – Imes has accumulated the same 23 rebounds over the last 5 games.

The same goes for Julian Roper II. He’s upped his rebounding intensity with 11 boards over the last 2 games – same amount as the five games prior.

— ND —