5. Players Era 8 In Las Vegas Commences On Tuesday

LAS VEGAS - Glenn & Stacey Murphy Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry said it's time to see where his team stands and test their compete level. It's time for the program to take its annual pilgrimage west to Las Vegas for the Players Era tournament, where it opens with three games in three days against No. 1 Florida. 

As the nation’s best teams continued to be added to the Players Era event, the tournament organizers decided to split the 24 teams into two distinct and true brackets. Notre Dame ended up in this year’s Players Era 8 alongside Florida, Houston, Rutgers, Kansas, UNLV, West Virginia and Auburn.

The opening round matchup will be a clash of two undefeated teams, as the Fighting Irish (4-0) look to secure an upset against the No. 1 team in the country, the Florida Gators (4-0). That matchup will tip off on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.  The winner will advance to play the winner of Houston/Rutgers. The two losers will play in consolation game No. 1.

The Irish have been playing a very entertaining brand of basketball, and that fighting spirit in their moniker will be tested by the Gators. Coach Shrewsberry said this heading into battle against No. 1:

“I feel good with the way that we move it and share it. We’ve seen a bunch of different things and styles in four games. When you play three games in three days with zero prep, you gotta be able to pick things up and go from film and walkthrough, straight to the court. I feel good about how they pick things up and shift and move and do that. Vegas will test our discipline and habits.”

Tuesday will mark the first-ever meeting between Notre Dame and Florida on the hardwood.

The Irish are no strangers to the Players Era tournament, for they were an original member. Ultimately, they are 1-5 in Las Vegas.

They have drawn Rutgers and Houston in each of the two trips out there. Notre Dame has split the results with Rutgers: losing 85-84 in OT in 2024, then winning 68-63 last year. In addition, ND has played Houston close both times: A 65-54 loss in 2024 and a 66-56 loss last season.

“The biggest thing I want to see is our compete level. If you don’t compete, they are going to beat you up on the glass. They still might if we do compete, but I want to see where we are. We’ve had a chance to do it the last couple of years against Houston in Vegas and it was the same thing - if there’s no compete level on the glass, you’re going to get destroyed," Coach Shrewsberry added. 

VERSUS #1

The Notre Dame men’s basketball program has challenged the AP No. 1 ranked team a total of 32 times. They have achieved eight victories, which puts them in eighth place:

1. North Carolina - 14

2. UCLA - 12

3. Duke - 11

4. Kansas, Maryland, Ohio St - 10

7. Kentucky - 9

8. Notre Dame - 8

Below is a complete list of Notre Dame’s AP-ranked No. 1 upsets:

• Jan 23, 1971 - UCLA
• Jan. 19, 1974 - UCLA
• March 5, 1977 - San Francisco
• Feb. 26, 1978 - Marquette
• Feb. 27, 1980 - DePaul
• Feb. 22, 1981 - Virginia
• Feb. 1, 1987 - North Carolina
• Jan. 21, 2012 - Syracuse

*The victory in 1974 snapped UCLA’s NCAA-record 88-game winning streak.

**Notre Dame boasts three more wins over No. 1, but they were No. 1 in the Coaches Poll, not the AP Poll. The last one was Feb. 6, 2016 vs. North Carolina.

THE ETHAN ROBERTS GAME

It was almost a ‘you had to be there to believe it’ kind of night. Ethan Roberts was a man possessed in the game-four win over South Carolina State. The fifth-year, who dreamt of playing at Notre Dame, has officially etched his name in the program’s record book for most made three-pointers in a game.

Roberts started 10-for-11 from three-point range. He had 10 made triples just 24 minutes in.

He had recorded 25 points behind seven made threes at the half. He exited the game with 9:56 remaining with a career-high 36 points.

His 10 made three-pointers tied Matt Farrell (10-12 at Boston College, 2/17/18) and Kyle McAlarney (10-18 vs. North Carolina, 11/26/08) for the most in program history.  He was one shy of tying the ACC single-game record.

The Fighting Irish rolled to the 99-59 victory over the Bulldogs, converting 19 threes (19-13, .576), which was one shy of tying the program record.

Overall, from the field, the Blue & Gold shot 33-of-59 (.559). It marked the first time since the 2020-21 season in which Notre Dame had shot over 55 percent in back-to-back games.

THE TRINITY OF THE THREE-POINT BARRAGE

The Fighting Irish head to Las Vegas with the fifth-best three-point shooting percentage in the country, converting a blistering 47.8 percent. They also rank 10th in the country in made threes per game, averaging 13.5. The Irish also boast an effective shooting percentage of 62.1 percent, which ranks in the top 20.

The Blue & Gold currently have two starters shooting over 66 percent from three, which ranks top-10 nationally:

• Ethan Roberts - 68.0% (17-25)
• Brady Koehler - 66.7% (10-15)

Roberts, Koehler and Braeden Shrewsberry have combined for 40 made triples through four games. Shrewsberry converts at a 41.9 percent clip (13-31).

FLOOR GENERAL

Notre Dame has reaped the benefit of having an experienced floor general commanding the team on the court. In fact, Braeden Smith’s fingerprints have been all over ND’s 4-0 start.

The fifth-year point guard has dished out 29 assists through four games, which ranks 2nd nationally. That’s good for 7.3 assists per game. He’s also taking care of the basketball, which was a major emphasis for Coach Shrews. Smith enters Players Era with a 7.25 A/TO ratio.

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.

Two days later, Smith nabbed another eight-assist performance in the win over SC State. That means he’s recorded at least 8 assists in three straight games.

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.

Heading into the Players Era 8, the Irish are now averaging 10.5 steals per game, which ranks 4th in the ACC.

Leading the charge is fifth-year Braeden Smith. ND’s starting point guard has totaled 13 steals, as his 3.3 steals per game rank 19th nationally and 2nd in the ACC.

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.

After the two games in three days last week, Koehler combined for 30 points on 8-of-13 shooting, plus 5-for-7 from three. He also grabbed a total of 13 rebounds.

He has now posted double-digit points in all 4 games and has led the team in rebounding in 3-of-4 contests. The sophomore is averaging 15.7 ppg and a team-best 6.8 rpg.

His impressive shooting split is currently 60.6% / 66.7% / 72.2%.

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.”

Duncomb went a perfect 4-for-4 in ND’s last game, recording nine points and 10 rebounds. He has now made his last 13 shots.

NOTRE NOTABLES

• Notre Dame landed at No. 28 in Rothstein’s latest top-45.
• ND’s KenPom heading into Players Era is No. 67.
• All five Irish starters are currently averaging double-digit points.
• The Irish are currently averaging 18.8 assists on 29.3 made field goals.
• With ND’s win over South Carolina St, Smith has surpassed the 500-assist milestone.
• Shrewsberry is now up to 251 triples in his career, which would put him in sole seventh place all-time at Notre Dame.
• Duncomb has drawn 19 fouls through 4 games.
• The Irish are averaging 13.5 made threes per game, and converting them at a 47.8% clip.

-- ND --