4. Irish Close Out Homestand Wednesday vs. South Carolina St

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Earlier this fall, the ACC launched “Two Traditions. One Court,” an initiative building visibility around basketball games between ACC programs and HBCUs. On Wednesday night, Notre Dame will host South Carolina State in what will be 1-of-37 games shining a spotlight on HBCUs.

The Fighting Irish (3-0) vs. the Bulldogs (3-0) will tip off at 7 p.m. ET on ACCNX inside Purcell Pavilion. Tickets are still available and can be purchased online in the table above. 

Wednesday night will mark the first-ever matchup between the two programs. South Carolina State finished with a 10-22 record last season with a 7-7 mark in the MEAC. They are off to a 3-0 start this year, coming off an 82-67 win at Chicago St. on Monday.

The Bulldogs are led by Noah Treadwell, who is averaging 15.7 ppg. Thirteen of his 15 made field goals have been three-pointers.

After Wednesday night’s tilt, the Irish will get some much-needed rest before jetting to Las Vegas for the Players Era Eight. The annual November event has now been split up into two distinct brackets, with the Irish landing in next week’s PE 8. They’ll open up against No. 1 Florida next Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. ET.

STEALING THE HEADLINES

In Notre Dame’s 94-70 win over Eastern Illinois on Nov. 9, they did something that hadn’t been done in over 24 years. The Blue & Gold netted 17 steals, which landed at No. 4 on the program’s all-time single-game list.

The Irish are now averaging 12.0 steals per game, which ranks 24th nationally and third in the ACC.

Leading the charge is fifth-year Braeden Smith. ND’s starting point guard has totaled 11 steals through three games. His 3.7 steals per game rank 9th nationally and 2nd in the ACC.

FLOOR GENERAL

Notre Dame has reaped the benefit of having an experienced floor general commanding the team out on the court. In fact, Braeden Smith’s fingerprints have been all over ND’s 3-0 start.

Versus Villanova, it wasn’t just the fact he co-led the team with 16 points; it was what he did down the stretch.

Out of the final media timeout, Smith sank three straight free throws to make it 66-63. He had the assist on the Koehler dunk. He had a steal, then assisted on the Duncomb three. He gathered the rebound after the Koehler block and called a timeout. On Villanova’s final shot, he boxed out an opponent so more time came off the clock.

Smith ultimately scored or assisted on 15 of ND’s final 19 points vs. Villanova (7 points, 3 assists).

“I think it’s this guy right here, man,” Coach Shrewsberry said. “The poise that he has. He kind of wills you to the right moments. I can be talking to somebody that’s subbing in, but he’s got the other four guys huddled, and we’re all on the same page late-game. And I thought we did a good job of handling those situations.”

Against Mercyhurst, Smith tied his career high of 10 assists to go along with his five points. He earned an assist on four of the team’s first seven made baskets of the game.

Versus Eastern Illinois, he posted 17 points, a team-best eight assists, five rebounds and a team high five steals.

Smith now has 21 steals through three games. He’s averaging 7.0 assists per game, which ranks 22nd nationally & 2nd in the ACC. 

Lastly, he currently boasts a 5.25 A/TO ratio.

BREAKOUT BRADY K

The basketball world took notice of Brady Koehler after his impressive 16-point, 8-rebound, 2-steal, 2-block performance vs. Villanova. He recorded two memorable moments down the stretch, which included a takeoff poster dunk and a huge block on a corner-three attempt.

“Brady Koehler’s a beast,” Coach Shrewsberry said after the game. “He was so good late and down the stretch for us, defensively and offensively.”

In game two, Koehler tied his career high of 17 points, missing just one shot from the field. He went a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc, marking a new career best in made triples.

In game three vs. EIU, Koehler posted another solid stat line of 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks.

He has now posted double-digit points in all three games and led the team in rebounding in all three as well. The sophomore is averaging a team-best 15.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg and 1.7 bpg.

Finally, he’s currently at a blistering 7-for-10 clip from beyond the arc.

A RUN TO REMEMBER

In game No. 3 of the season, the Irish found themselves trailing Eastern Illinois, 11-0, at the 17:41 mark, prompting a Coach Shrewsberry timeout. The Fighting Irish responded with the longest scoring run in the Shrews era, a 24-0 spree over seven minutes.

Seven different players scored during the run, led by a combined 11 points from Braeden Shrewsberry and Brady Koehler. 

A STEADY PRESENCE

Whether it be hitting a game-winning three vs. Villanova, or leading the team in rebounding and drawn fouls vs. Mercyhurst, or dropping a team-high 20 points on Eastern Illinois - Logan Duncomb is that team-first veteran who will do whatever is asked of him.

On Nov. 9 vs. Eastern Illinois, Duncomb flashed his scoring prowess, posting 20 points on a perfect 9-for-9 shooting night.

“If they need me to score 20, I can do that,” Duncomb said. “If they need me to get these guys open to shoot 50 percent from three, I can do that too.”

NO JET LAG VS. MERCYHURST

Any doubts or concerns over jet lag or an Italy hangover were put to bed almost immediately after the opening tip vs. Mercyhurst. The Fighting Irish jumped out to a 14-0 lead, which was later extended to 25-7, and never looked back. The Lakers scored the first four points of the second half to cut the gap to 11 points, but the Irish responded with a 17-0 run. ND ultimately won 83-56.

The Irish shot over 50 percent from the field each half, finishing 28-of-52 (.538) in the game. They drained 15 three-pointers (15-of-32, 46.9 percent) for the first time since Jan. 14, 2023. The Blue & Gold also outrebounded Mercyhurst 32-22, which included limiting them to zero first-half offensive rebounds.

Ethan Roberts led the Blue & Gold in scoring that night with 18 points. He missed just one shot from the field (6-of-7) and drained three triples.

NOTRE NOTABLES

• Notre Dame landed at No. 28 in Rothstein’s latest top-45.
• ND’s KenPom heading into Wednesday’s game is No. 72.
• All five Irish starters are currently averaging double-digit points.
• The Irish are currently averaging 16.3 assists on 28.0 made field goals.
• Smith is 1 assist away from 500 in his career
• Roberts boasts a shooting split of 58.3% / 58.3% / 100%
• With four triples on Monday, Shrewsberry hit 250 in his career, which would put him in sole seventh place all-time at Notre Dame.
• Duncomb has drawn 14 fouls through three games.
• The Irish are averaging 11.7 made threes per game, and converting them at a 43.8% clip. That 3PT FG% ranks 22nd nationally and third in the ACC.
• For the second time in three games, the Irish defense has forced 20 or more turnovers. They are averaging 18.0 forced turnovers this season.

COUNTDOWN TO 2000

Notre Dame men’s basketball is a richly historical program that’s been around since 1897. It’s a program full of history, major upsets, legendary individual performances and team glory.

The 2026-27 Fighting Irish are closing in on a major milestone. They are just 6 wins away from reaching 2,000 all-time, currently boasting a 1992-1146-2 record. They will become just the ninth team ever to reach the 2,000-win milestone.

It’s impossible to encapsulate over a century of accomplishments, but here are a few By The Numbers for you:

• 92 winning seasons
• 37 NCAA Tournament appearances - tied for the 12th most
• 40 NCAA Tournament wins
• 1 Final Four appearance
• 738 wins inside Purcell Pavilion since it opened on Dec. 1, 1968
• ND has knocked off the AP No 1 ranked team eight times inside Purcell - tied for 8th most. That includes the memorable upset over UCLA on Jan. 19, 1974
• 108 ACC wins
• 13 ACC Tournament victories, which includes the 2015 ACC Tournament title
• 38 All-Americans spanning 62 honors
• 68 NBA players
• Austin Carr - NCAA Tournament scoring record holder for 61 points in a single game. His scoring average of 34.6 ppg still ranks as the 2nd highest in NCAA all-time. Carr still holds the Notre Dame scoring record, amassing 2,560 career points.

BRAEDEN CAREER CHARTS CHASING FROM THREE

Braeden Shrewsberry will be chasing several career three-pointer records and top-5/top-10 lists during his senior season.

He started the 2026-27 campaign with 238 career treys, which already cracked the program top-10. He currently boasts 250, with No. 6 David Graves up next at 259.

He’s tracking to surpass 300 made threes, which only three Notre Dame players have done prior:

• Colin Falls = 331
• Chris Thomas = 302
• Matt Carroll = 301

-- ND --