| GAME 12: | NOTRE DAME (8-3) |
|---|---|
| OPPONENT: | EVANSVILLE (4-6) |
| TIP TIME: | 2 PM ET |
| WHERE: | SOUTH BEND, IN | PURCELL PAVILION |
| WATCH: | ACCN |
| LISTEN: | NOTRE DAME RADIO NETWORK | CLICK HERE |
| TICKETS: | PURCHASE ONLINE |
| STATS: | https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=613461 |
| SOCIAL: | @NDMBB | #GOIRISH |
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – There’s not a better place for the Notre Dame men’s basketball (6-1) team to kick off ACC play on Saturday than inside Purcell Pavilion – where they have been a problem for opposing teams over the past two seasons. ND will lean on the Irish faithful to make sure league play starts on the right note, with Syracuse (3-4) first up. Tip inside Purcell is scheduled for Noon ET and will air live on ESPN2.
Notre Dame also looks to shorten the gap in the series record between the two, trailing 23-31. The last time these two linked up, the Irish walked away with the 76-69 victory at home.
NATE THE GREAT
How about nearly doubling your scoring average from a year ago – a career best 16.9 ppg – ranks 5th in the ACC. In fact, Laszewski ranks in the top-10 of six different stastical categories in the ACC — 7th in rebounds (8.6), 3rd in FG% (.545), 9th in 3PT FG% (.429), 3rd in FT% (.872), 2nd in defensive rebounds (7.7). Moreso, his 7.7 defensive rebounds per game rank 13th in the country.
He’s 1-of-6 players in the country averaging at least 15 points, 8 rebounds while shooting over 40.0 percent from three — 1-of-3 from a Power-Five team – Iowa’s Kris Murray and Alabama’s Brandon Miller.
SCOREMAC RYAN
The Michigan State game on Nov. 30 saw the return of the Scoremac. He was a man possessed in the first half, scoring 20 of the team’s 42 points in which they boasted a 42-24 lead. Thus he nearly outscored the Spartans that half. He went 5-for-5 from deep and 7-of-8 overall. He ultimately finished the game with season high 23 points and a perfect 6-for-6 from three.
And Ryan is no stranger to that kind of performance. He went 7-for-9 from three in the big NCAA Tournament win over Alabama last March, scoring 29 points.
All-in-all, since joining the Irish starting lineup on Feb. 9, 2022, Ryan has averaged 12.7 ppg (carrying over into this season as well).
This season, he’s gone 4-for-7 in double-digit scoring performances, plus the game-winning basket against Radford.
NEW COURT, SAME HOME ADVANTAGE
Notre Dame’s court may have gotten a facelift this offseason and sport a new look, but the same home-court advantage still applies.
Last season, the Irish went 14-1 inside Purcell Pavilion, and this year they are off to a 6-0 start which includes a ranked win over No. 20 Michigan State. Thus, they are 20-1 at home over their last 21 home games.
CLOSERS
One of the biggest takeaways from early on this season is that the Irish get clutch at home down the final stretch of a game.
Game 1 vs Radford – Irish make 6 of their last 9 from the field over the final 8:22
Game 2 vs YSU – Irish make its last six from the field over the final 4:29
Game 3 vs USI – Irish make its last 11-of-15 over the final 11:33.
Game 4 vs Lipscomb – Dane Goodwin converts a three with 14 seconds left for the go-ahead game-winner.
Game 5 vs Bowling Green – The Irish end the game on a 23-5 scoring run. ND made 9 of its last 12 from the field starting at the 10:25 mark.
ALL FIVE STARTERS IN DOUBLE FIGURES
How about this – all five starters are averaging double-digit points. How common is that? In terms of Power-Five conference teams – only UCLA, Nebraska and Kentucky can claim the same as well.
STAR(LING) FRESHMAN
Starling, who was ranked 18th by ESPN and was the highest ranked ND recruit since at least 2007 (when ESPN recruiting database began), is off to a fantastic start – averaging 13.0 ppg. In fact, he ranks 3rd in scoring amongst ACC freshmen. The top two spots belong to Duke’s Kyle Filipowski (15.4 ppg) and Syracuse’s Judah Mintz (15.1 ppg). All-in-all, they’re the only 3 ACC freshmen in double figures.
However, JJ does boast the best shooting percentage amongst ACC freshmen, converting 45.7 percent. In fact, his shooting percentage ranks 8th nationally amongst D-I freshmen.
He took over the Bowling Green game on Nov. 22 – pouring in 23 points on a near-perfect 10-for-11 shooting night. He joined Torin Francis (10-11 vs Arizona on 3/27/2003) as the only other freshman in ND history to make at least 10 field goals while only missing one from the floor. Plus, his 23 points currently stands as a single game high amongst ACC freshmen.
Starling first impressed with a 17-point breakout performance vs Youngstown State on Nov. 13. Starling went clutch mode, making back-to-back treys under the two-minute mark to help clinch the win.
He led second-half scorers against Michigan State, scoring nine of his 14 points.
WHO’S HOT
Since we’ve already talked about Cormac’s MSU performance, how about Trey Wertz and his ability to lead the offense. In the last three games he’s dished out 6, 6 and 7 assists.
His 4.7 apg ranks 6th in the ACC, while his 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio leads all players in the ACC and ranks 43rd in the nation.
DANE FEELIN GOOD(WIN)
Dane entered the year with 8 20+ point scoring performances and now has two already.
He’s currently averaging a career-best 14.0 ppg on 50.0 percent shooting. Goodwin is connecting on 48.1 percent from deep (13-of-27) – team best – also ranks 3rd in the ACC.
Goodwin has hit some big late three’s as well – hitting a trey with 2:48 left against USI and 14 seconds left against Lipscomb. The latter was the gamewinner in a 66-65 victory over Lipscomb. Goodwin tied his career high in made three-pointers, converting 6-of-8 from deep. He finished with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
PEEP THESE TRENDING STATS
The Irish are currently leading the country in fouls per game, only committing an average of 11.1.
Next, they rank 3rd in the country in turnovers per game, only surrendering 8.7 – which leads the ACC.
Lastly, the rank 6th in free-throw percentage, converting 81.2 percent from the stripe – leads the ACC as well.
LEARNED HOW TO WIN AND THEN SOME
The quote you heard from Coach Brey often this preseason – “these guys learned how to win last year and now they are ready for the challenge.”
This experienced Irish group went 15-5 in the ACC, earning the No. 2 seed in the league tournament. They then made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017, earning a First Four spot. Notre Dame defeated Rutgers in double OT and then Alabama before falling to Texas Tech closely in the Second Round.
Fast forward to now and that experience has paid off. First, the Irish battled back to take the lead against Radford with 9.5 seconds left for the 79-76 win. Against Youngstown State, it was a three-point game with 2:26 remaining, but the Irish staved off the attack and clinched the 88-81 victory. Then it was Dane Goodwin’s go-ahead three-pointer with 14 seconds left to remain unbeaten for the 66-65 win over Lipscomb.
Against Michigan State – the defense forced a Sparty season low 52 points. In fact, that marked the first time in 29 games against MSU and first time since 1952, in which the Irish held the Spartans to below 55 points in the storied 98-game series rivalry.
— ND —