2. Irish Host Lakers in Home Opener Thursday

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - After a 10-hour flight, Notre Dame men's basketball arrived back in South Bend on Monday around 5 p.m. ET. Then they had two practice days to shake off the jet lag before the home opener arrives on Thursday night vs. Mercyhurst.

The 1-0 Fighting Irish certainly have something to build on after knocking off Villanova in Rome on Sunday, 74-72. The Wildcats were receiving votes in both polls, a top-40 KenPom team, and picked to finish third in the Big East.

Now, Glenn & Stacey Murphy Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry’s attention turns to Mercyhurst, who travels to South Bend after a 78-43 loss at Marquette.

Tip-off Thursday is slated for 7 p.m. ET inside Purcell Pavilion, streaming live on ACCNX.

The matchup kicks off a three-game homestand over seven days. The Irish will host Eastern Illinois on Nov. 9, then South Carolina State on Nov. 11.

Historically, the Irish are 111-11 in home openers.

SCOUTING MERCYHURST

Mercyhurst finished 17-17 (10-8 NEC) last season, but reached the conference tournament title game in their first NEC-eligible season.

The Lakers were picked second in this year’s NEC Preseason Poll, receiving two first-place votes. Five players return from last year’s team, returning 25.7 percent of their scoring.

They are led by Jake Lemelman and Tennessee Rainwater, who were both named to the Preseason All-NEC Team.

Thursday night officially marks the first-ever matchup between Notre Dame and Mercyhurst.

WIN IN ROME

What a way to open the season. Notre Dame erased a 10-point second-half deficit, utilizing a 14-4 scoring run down the final 3:37 to topple Villanova, 74-72.

The final stretch saw a little of everything: a beautiful Ethan Roberts cut to the basket and score, a fast-break Brady Koehler poster dunk, Logan Duncomb’s first career three-pointer to push the Irish ahead, or Braeden Smith being clutch at the free-throw line.

In fact, Smith scored or assisted on 15 of ND’s final 19 points.

The Irish won despite shooting 35.4 percent compared to Villanova’s 46.2 percent. Shooting a lower percentage than your opponent and finding a way to win was something last year’s ND team never accomplished. This year’s squad did it through defense and resiliency.

Notre Dame’s defense forced 20 Villanova turnovers and converted that into 20 points.  The last time Nova committed 20 turnovers in a game was December 1, 2019 vs. La Salle.

In addition, the Irish defense secured 14 steals, the most in the Shrewsberry era.

Next, the Irish offense dished out 14 total assists. The last time Notre Dame totaled at least 14 assists and 14 steals in the same game was Nov. 14, 2014, vs. Binghamton.

Finally, the Blue & Gold worked hard on the glass, collecting 17 offensive rebounds, which they converted into 16 second-chance points. The 17 offensive boards marked the second most in the Shrews era.

DYNAMIC DUO DOWN THE HOME STRETCH

Braeden Smith and Brady Koehler were both dynamic down the stretch in the second half. Both scored double-digit points in the second half and both finished with a team-best 16 points in the game.

Smith scored 12 of his 16 points in the 2nd half vs. Villanova, where he was 9-for-9 from the FT line (10-or-11 in the game). He had the assists on both the Koehler dunk and Duncomb three; he got the defensive rebound and called a timeout after the Koehler block; he had only one turnover in 31 minutes; plus he had a team-best 4 steals.

“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.”

Koehler was 5-for-9 from two-point range and reeled in a team-best 8 rebounds. He also added 2 steals and 2 blocks, which included a memorable block in the corner in the final minute of the game.

“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.”

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 8 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
• 736 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.

KOEHLER 2.0 LOADING

Sophomore Brady Koehler is poised for a breakout year. He got after it in the gym, adding over 15 pounds of muscle.

Last season, Koehler started in 13 games, playing in 30. He shot 50.7 percent from two-point range and drained 38.2 percent from beyond the arc.

In ACC play, Koehler averaged 7.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and converted 45.7 percent from the floor. He finished in double figures in three of his last four games.

Koehler’s best showing last year was in the 2OT loss to No. 17 Virginia, when he recorded his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

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 241, which ties TJ Gibbs for 8th all-time. Next on the list is No. 7 Ryan Hoover at 248.

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

The next list to track will be career made threes in ACC play. Shrewsberry has converted 145 threes in conference play, which only trails Prentiss Hubb (157 in ACC) and Colin Falls (189 in Big East).

If Braeden were to get to 194 career threes in league play, that would put him in the top-5 all-time for any ACC player.

NEW LOOK IRISH

The Notre Dame roster has a completely new look heading into the 2026-27 season. The program lost nine student-athletes either to graduation or to the spring portal window, which included All-ACC selections Markus Burton and Jalen Haralson; however, Coach Shrewsberry countered by adding six transfers to go along with his three-player freshmen class.

With the additions, the Irish got older, hit areas of need and gained some NCAA Tournament experience as well.

First off, Coach Shrewsberry added three former League Players of the Year:

• Logan Duncomb = 2026 Big South Player of the Player
• Braeden Smith = 2024 Patriot League Player of the Year
• Ethan Roberts = 2023 Patriot League Rookie of the Year

Furthermore, three transfers earned All-Conference recognition last season:

• Duncomb (First Team All-Big South)
• Roberts (Second Team All-Ivy)
• Devin Brown (A10 All-Rookie Team)

Two of the transfers also bring NCAA Tournament experience:

• Roberts = 2026 Penn
• Smith = 2026 Gonzaga, 2024 Colgate, 2023 Colgate.

BIG MAN ACQUIRED

One of the impact transfers Coach Shrewsberry landed was 6-10 fifth-year center Logan Duncomb. The Cincinnati native is coming off a 2026 Big South Player of the Year campaign at Winthrop. He was also a finalist for the Lou Henson Award and Nolan Richardson Award.

Duncomb finished third in the Big South in scoring (18.3 ppg) and second in rebounding (8.9). He became the second Eagle in program history to average a double-double in conference play (21.3 ppg, 10.3 rpg).

He broke the single-season record for free throws made (194) and free throws attempted (264). In addition, Duncomb posted 14 double-doubles.

Duncomb helped Winthrop to a 23-11 record, one game shy of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.

BALL PROTECTOR

Protecting the basketball was a key offseason point for the Irish, and Coach Shrewsberry brought in one of the best in the collegiate game. Braeden Smith arrives from Gonzaga where he posted a 3.34 assist-to-turnover ratio that ranked 12th in the country. Smith played in all 35 games, helping the Bulldogs to a 31-4 record and a second-round NCAA Tournament showing.

As a sophomore at Colgate, Smith was named the 2024 Patriot League Player of the Year after averaging 12.5 points and 5.6 assists. In addition, Smith was named Patriot League Tournament MVP after he averaged

16.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists.

EBO MAKES IT HOME

Ethan Roberts arrives to South Bend via Penn, coming off a Second Team All-Ivy season. He helped lead the Quakers to an 18-12 record, an Ivy Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance.

Roberts led Penn in scoring, averaging 16.9 ppg, and produced a team best eight 20+ point performances. Roberts also led the squad in free-throw percentage, converting 79.9 percent from the stripe. Furthermore, the Arlington Heights native ranked 8th in the Ivy League in three-point percentage (.404)

BUYING IN

What once used to be common is now a rarity. Braeden Shrewsberry and Logan Imes will be in select company this season, for they will officially have spent freshman-senior years, all four, at Notre Dame.

It is believed that Notre Dame is 1-of-5 high major programs that have more than one player who has never left and has been there freshman-senior year.

TOMMY’S TIME

The long journey back met its destination on November 1 in Rome. That’s when sophomore Tommy Ahneman finally got to compete in his first collegiate game. Ahneman was sidelined all last year rehabbing his knee after a successful preseason surgery.

Ahneman is a great story of perseverance. In the eighth grade, he dislocated his knee caps; then had knee surgery his freshman year on both knees; then missed last season to surgery and rehab as well. When asked what he wants fans to take away from watching him this upcoming season: “that I fought through adversity and that I’m super grateful to be at this university.”

Ahneman was the top-ranked prospect in the state of Minnesota and a consensus top-100 recruit. He averaged 16.3 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists as a senior at Cretin-Derham, leading them to a Class 4A State runner-up finish. As a junior, he led Sheyenne High in West Fargo, North Dakota to a Class 2A state championship.

-- ND --