28. Irish Look to Topple #1/1 Duke on Tuesday

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Fighting Irish (12-15, 3-11) have four guaranteed regular-season games remaining to leave it all out on the floor. On Tuesday, Notre Dame begins its final homestand, encompassing three games. On Tuesday, the Blue & Gold have a giant opportunity in hosting the No. 1 team in the nation. On Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, it’s Notre Dame vs. #1/1 Duke (25-2, 13-1) in a sold-out Purcell Pavilion.

Notre Dame has quite a rich history when hosting the No. 1 team in the country. The Fighting Irish are riding a 7-game win streak against the No. 1 team inside Purcell Pavilion:

• W 80-76 vs #2/1 North Carolina on 2/6/16
• W 67-58 vs #1/1 Syracuse on 1/21/12
• W 60-58 vs #1/1 North Carolina on 2/1/87
• W 76-74 in OT vs #1/1 DePaul on 2/27/80
• W 65-59 vs #1/1 Marquette on 2/26/78
• W 93-82 vs #1/1 San Francisco on 3/5/77
• W 71-70 vs #1/1 UCLA on 1/19/74

The Irish are 8-3 all-time at home vs. a No. 1 team in the country. The eighth and final win would be #1/1 UCLA on 1/23/71.

No matter the venue, the Irish have eight wins over AP No. 1 opponents. Only seven teams have more wins over AP No. 1 teams: North Carolina (14), UCLA (12), Duke (11), Kansas (10), Maryland (10), Ohio State (10) and Kentucky (9).

The Blue Devils enter the matchup with a 25-2 record with their only losses coming to Texas Tech on Dec. 20 and North Carolina on Feb. 7. They shoot 50.0% from the field, which ranks 18th nationally, while limiting opponents to 63.1 ppg (ranks 3rd in the country). They are led by freshman Cameron Boozer and his 22.6 ppg, which ranks 5th nationally.

COLE CERTA FLU GAME

Listed as probable before the game due to the flu, it certainly didn’t show for Cole Certa. The sophomore went off for a career-high 37 points in the 89-74 win over Georgia Tech.

The 37 points tied Matt Farrell for the second most in an ACC game (most in regulation), trailing only Markus Burton’s 43 points in 2OT game against Cal a season ago.

Certa drained a career-best seven threes, finishing 7-11. He was 12-20 from the field overall. Certa dropped 21 points in the first half, marking the first time an Irish player has done so since Markus Burton’s 22 at Syracuse on Jan. 18, 2025.

Furthermore, Braeden Shrewsberry and Logan Imes each stepped up to complement Cole. Braeden netted his fourth 20-point game of the season with 20 exactly, converting 4-8 from three to go with his team-high 4 assists. Meanwhile, Logan produced the best game of his career, starting in place of the injured Jalen Haralson. Logan earned a career high in points (14) and rebounds (9).

THE CATHOLIC CANNONS

Cole Certa and Braeden Shrewsberry have heated up from three in the month of February. It’s just factual. Over 5 games in February, Certa is averaging the 2nd most made threes per game at 4.4 amongst power conference players, trailing only Texas Tech’s Donovan Atwell (4.5). Meanwhile, Shrewsberry checks in at 3.4. Their combined 7.8 made threes per game is the 2nd highest mark between teammates this month amongst power conference duos, trailing just Texas Tech’s Atwell & Anderson and their combined 8.3.

To put into perspective how crazy this stat is — 7.8 made threes per game is more than what four squads in the ACC are averaging as a team. In addition, Cole’s 22 made threes in February ranks 5th amongst power conference players, which is impressive since he’s played one less game than all four players who rank in front of him.

1. Donovan Atwell, Texas Tech – 27 in 6
2. Pryce Sandfort, Nebraska – 25 in 6
3. Mikel Brown Jr, Louisville – 23 in 6
4. Bennett Stirtz, Iowa – 23 in 7
5. Cole Certa, ND – 22 in 5

OFFENSE FINDING A WAY

The first half of Pitt was certainly an outlier when it comes to this game note, but with that said, the Irish have found success offensively despite missing Markus Burton’s 18.5 ppg and Jalen Haralson’s 16.3 ppg in league play. Given those hurdles, Notre Dame has still shot over 50 percent in 5 of their last 8 halves. In the 2nd half of Pitt, ND put up 48 points on 50% shooting.

Further perspective … over the first 6 ACC games, Notre Dame averaged 69.0 ppg on 41.4% shooting. Over the last 7 games, a different story – 78.7 ppg on 45.5% shooting. The 3-headed monster of Certa, Haralson & Shrewsberry has combined for 53.4 ppg in that 7-game span.

Individually speaking, let’s start with the sophomore sharpshooter Cole Certa, who is on a career best 5 game double-digit scoring streak. He’s totaled 101 points (20.2 ppg) behind 35-84 shooting (41.7%), 22-57 from three (38.6%).

He recently produced a career-high 37-point performance, which marked his second 30-point game in the last 7 games. The other was a 34-point effort vs. #17 Virginia on Jan. 27.

His two 30-burgers are the second most in ACC play, only behind Ebuka Okorie’s 3. In fact, Cole owns the 3rd and 5th highest scoring performances in league play with his 37 and 34 points.

Braeden Shrewsberry had produced 3 straight games in double figures before settling with 6 points at Pitt. Over the last 5 games, Braeden has averaged 13.6 ppg, which encompasses a 20-point game vs. Georgia Tech, 16 at SMU and 18 vs. Florida State.

Completing the trifecta is Jalen Haralson, though he has missed the last couple of games due to an injured ankle. The freshman was playing his best basketball of the season before the injury. He had produced three games of 20 or more points over the last five he played. He was averaging 18.4 points, 4.0 rebounds & 3.5 assists in that timeframe, shooting a hot 59.3% from the field. There were only 2 players averaging 18 points, 4 rebounds & 3.5 assists since Jan. 27:

– Jalen Haralson

– Mikel Brown Jr.

Jalen’s top game – a career high 26 points at Syracuse, with 19 coming in the 2nd half on 6-7 shooting. Not to mention, a dunk worthy of the SportsCenter Top-10.

FRESHMAN STANDOUT JALEN HARALSON

Speaking of next man up, Notre Dame will most likely be without the services of freshman sensation Jalen Haralson. The Indiana native was impressing in his debut season as he worked toward ACC All-Rookie team consideration. Haralson is averaging a team best 16.3 ppg in ACC play. That number ranks 5th amongst ACC freshman. He shoots an efficient 52.9% from the floor in league play which ranks 8th overall amongst ACC players in any class.

ACC Rookie Averages in League Play:
1. Cameron Boozer, 22.4
2. Ebuka Okorie, 21.9
3. Caleb Wilson, 20.1
4. Thijs De Ridder, 16.4
5. Jalen Haralson, 16.3

He’s registered double-digit points in all but 3 games and has earned six games of 20+ — three in ACC play over the last five games he played: 20 vs Virginia, career high 26 at Syracuse and 23 at SMU.

Jalen is strong and shifty when attacking the rim, converting 69.3% from within 4.5 feet. The Fishers, Indiana, native shoots 53.9% overall from two-point range, in addition to leading the team in free throw attempts (6.0 per game).

SHREWSBERRY LEADING FROM THREE

Braeden Shrewsberry continues to prove he’s one of the best from deep, ranking 4th in the ACC in three-point shooting percentage at 40.6%. That number also ranks 40th in the country. He’s converting 2.9 made threes per game, which ranks 3rd in the league.

Shrewsberry’s sweet spot? The corner three – where he’s draining 50.0%, which is 14.2% above the Division I average.

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.

Braeden has drained 78 threes on the year. For comparison, he recorded 78 as a freshman and 72 in a shortened sophomore campaign.

BRAEDEN CAREER ACCOLADES

Speaking of Shrewsberry making it rain, the junior reached the 1,000-point career milestone at SMU on Feb. 10, doing so in 84 games. He became the 69th Notre Dame player all-time to reach the milestone. That number ties Louisville for 3rd most all-time behind Duke (70) & UNC (81).

Braeden also enters Saturday’s matchup with 228 career made threes. He is now 9 away (237) from moving into the program’s top-10.

REBOUNDING TRANSLATES

Towt’s current rebounding rankings:

• 9.4 rpg ranks 25th nationally, 4th in the ACC
• 3.7 offensive rpg – 1st in ACC/13th in country
• 5.7 defensive rpg – 5th in ACC
• 1,332 career rebounds – leads all active players
• His 1,332 career rebounds have pushed him into the top-100 all-time list at #63.

NOTRE NOTABLES

• The Irish are 10 wins away from 2,000 all-time. They would become the eighth program to achieve this feat.
• Certa is averaging a team-best 17.3 ppg against ranked opposition.
• Towt is 14-20 from the field over the last 5 games, totaling 29 points in that span.
• Braeden and Brady Koehler are finding success in the midrange, where they are shooting 44.4% & 58.8%, respectively.
• Certa is 69-77 from the free-throw line. His 89.6% leads all ACC players and would rank 3rd for a season at ND. Steve Vasturia holds the top spot at 91.0%.
• With a 12-point outburst at Pitt behind 4-5 shooting from three, Ryder Frost is now shooting 41.9% from beyond the arc on the season. Obviously, a smaller sample size, but that’s the highest three-point percentage on the team.
• Logan Imes — back-to-back games in double figures for the first time in his career, filling in for the injured Jalen Haralson. He recorded a 12-point game at Pitt and a career high 14 points on 6-12 shooting (2-4 from three) in the win over Georgia Tech. Plus, he’s grabbed 17 rebounds over those 2 games.
• Garrett Sundra is 9 for his last 10 from two-point range.
• Sir thrives in the paint, where he’s shooting 48.9%.
• NET is at 89 — 2-9 in Quad 1 // 1-5 in Quad 2// 1-0 in Quad 3 / 8-1 in Quad 4.
• KenPom is at 87 — ORtg ranked 89 at 115.2 — DRtg ranked 93 at 105.6.