On to Notre Dame....

On to South Bend....

So, last year, the Irish made it into the NCAA tournament for the first time in four years.  They won a play-in game and then a regular game and then lost to Texas Tech.  

They lost 3 starters from that team. That includes Blake Wesley (All-ACC and all-rookies) who went pro and is with the Spurs, and all-ACC Honorable mention Paul Atkinson, along with 9 ppg G Prentis Hubb. 

They brought in four new guys, ONLY ONE OF WHICH WAS A TRANSFER.

Notre Dame has 6 graduate students on the roster.  That's got to be interesting, as players attempted to balance basketball with a dive into the theoretical side of academic study.  They are the #4 most experienced team in D1.

In the ACC poll, they were picked #6 and #7 in Blue Ribbon.

They are 4-0.  They have beaten Radford, Youngstown State, Southern Indiana and Lipscomb, all at home.  While there are no huge wins in there, they are all teams with a better kenpom than BG's.

This is the 8th time BG and Notre Dame have played, and the first since 1971.  Both of BG's wins came about a month apart in early 1963.

Notre Dame is interesting. They play at a very slow pace (66 possessions per game) but they are highly efficient.  They score 1.19 points per possession, which is #15 in D1.  They are really good shooters, #10 at 60% EFG.  That's with 44% of their FGs from 3FG, and they make 40%, which is #33 in D1.  THey also make 60% of their 2FGs.  They only turn the ball over on 15.5%, which is also really good.  That's a lethal combo.  Like many teams who control tempo, they don't crash the offensive boards, but they are OK at getting to the line and they are making 85% of their free throws to date this year.

Defensively, they are not great.  They allow 1.1 points per possession, which is #286 in the country. They give up 54% EFG shooting, with below average results on 2FG and 3FG.  They are second-to-last in the nation in forcing turnovers.  They are really good on the defensive boards and teams do not get to the line against them.

From an individual perspective, they play a very tight six-man rotation.  Their top 6 guys have played 98% of their minutes.  Their starters all average between 33 and 38 minutes a game.

So, not surprisingly, they are all scoring in double figures.

Nate Laszewksi, 19 PPG on 64% 2FG and 47% from 3FG, 85% FTs.  Also, 10.3 RPG.  He's 6'10".

Dane Goodwin, 16.5 PPG, 58% from 2FG and 56% from 3FG. 100% on 9 FTs.  He's a 6'6" G.

Trey Wertz, 15.3 PPG, 86% on 2FG, 40% on 3FGs, 78% FTs, 3.5 APG.  He's a 6'5" G.

JJ Starling is scoring 11.8 PPG, but at 43% on 2FG and 40% on 3FG. He's a 6'4" G.  (Also, his sister was the FBI agent who solved the Buffalo Bill case.)

Cormac Ryan, is scoring 10.8 PPG, 50% on 2FGs and 25% on 3FGs.  94% on FTs. He's a 6'5" G.

Again, an interesting approach.  The matchup is not great for BG....this is a long team that scores effectively, and you'd have to wonder if BG can create enough offense to compete with them.

Anthony Solomon, Notre Dame's Associate Coach, was assistant at BG 1989-1992