Game 15 Preview: Irish Ship Up to Boston College

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The Notre Dame men’s basketball squad (8-6, 0-3) is searching for that needed first win in ACC play and first road victory – they could exorcise both those demons on Tuesday, Jan. 3, when the Irish travel to take on the Boston College Eagles (7-6, 1-1). Tip inside the Conte Forum is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on the ACC Network.

“We’ve got plenty of chances,” Dane Goodwin said after the Miami game. “Plenty of good teams in this league where we can turn it around and hopefully get some wins. We’ve got to dig down, we’ve got to work.”

ND vs BC

ND is 25-13 all-time against BC with a 9-8 record inside Conte Forum. Last year the two sides split with each winning at home. First, the Irish fell 73-57 at BC, then got some retribution when they slugged out a 99-95 overtime victory in South Bend. Goodwin scored a season-high 23 points in the overtime win and totaled 33 points in both contests.

Furthermore, Coach Brey is 19-4 against BC in his tenure at ND.

THREAT FROM THREE

Over the last 8 games, Notre Dame has knocked down 77 three-pointers (9.7 per game) which leads all Power-Five schools since Nov. 30. When looking at all D-I schools, it ranks 18th. 

Overall on the season, they are averaging 8.8 threes per game, which would crack the program’s all-time top-10. The program record is 9.7 set by the 19-20 squad. 

Now, the big reason for that – the squad’s big three who are all shooting above 40 percent: 

Goodwin – .444 

Ryan – .408

Laszewski – .404  

*Hammond – coming along at .409

“THAT WAS MARCUS HAMMOND”

The Hammond breakout game was Dec. 27 vs Jacksonville when he poured in a team-best 15 points in the win. He shot 6-of-11 from the field and 3-of-7 from deep, taking control of the Irish offense and pushing the tempo.  

“That was Marcus Hammond,” said Coach Brey. “He’s a scorer. He’s really gifted. Coach Slo spent some time with him; I think he was thinking too much. He’s really gifted. Man, he’s played a lot of basketball and I’m thrilled for him. He deserved that.”

A few days later, Hammond scored 10 of his 12 points in the 2nd half vs. Miami, which included a four-point play that made it a one-possession game with 12 minutes remaining. 

He is 10-of-19 from the floor over the last 2 games, with a 5-of-12 mark from three. A total of 27 points. 

DANE TRENDING

After 5 straight games (Dec. 3 vs Syracuse) in single digits, Goodwin has bounced back with 2 double-digit scoring performances –> 12 points in a win over Jacksonville then 14 points against Miami. 

He is 12-of-23 from the field over the last 2 games and 10-of-17 from two-point range. 

Overall on the year, Goodwin is connecting on a team-best 44.4 percent from deep. His season best was .458 set a year ago. 

JJ PRODUCES 5-GAME STREAK

Starling just capped a season-best five straight games in double figures, averaging a team-best 14.4 ppg in that span. 

One of the main reasons — in what was an achilles heel at the beginning of the season is now a strong point as of late – that’s JJ’s three-point shooting. He’s 8-of-17 from beyond the arc over the last 6 games aka 47.1 percent (did not have any attempts vs Miami). 

Two games ago vs Jacksonville on Dec. 27, JJ scored all 11 of his points in the 2nd half. More impressively, he impacted the game elsewhere, grabbing a season high 8 rebounds.

“JJ is getting better,” Brey said. “And more comfortable, in a good rhythm. He’s improved defensively. He’s moving the ball and playing. I’m excited about where he’s at. He has just been really good. To shake off a tough 1st half and say, ‘I’m going to keep playing.’ When he can square his shoulders and we get some cutters and we move and he can turn a corner, we don’t have anybody like that. He’s the guy.”

JJ almost singlehandedly won the Irish the game at Florida State on Dec. 21 – recording his 2nd 20-point performance of the season. Starling went on a 6-0 run to end the game to pull the Irish within one, giving them an opportunity to win with 6 seconds left.

LET CORMAC COOK

A phrase you may have heard a lot lately – let Cormac cook. He’s averaging a career best 12.2 ppg and shooting a career best 40.8 percent from three – latter ranks 7th in the ACC. He’s also shooting a career best 86.5 percent from the free-throw line. 

He has really come into his own since his breakout performance vs No. 20 Michigan State back on Nov. 30. Since that date, Ryan is 24-of-48 from three. His 24 made threes are tied for the most in the ACC (alongside FSU’s Darin Green Jr) since Nov. 30 — also tied for most of any Power-Five player. Furthermore, his .500 three-point percentage since that date also tops all ACC players. 

And even when his shots weren’t falling against Miami on Dec. 30, he still got it done in other areas with season highs in rebounds (9) and assists (5). 

NATE’S GREAT START

Nate Laszewski is averaging a career-best 13.9 ppg and a career-high 7.8 rpg. 

With four years under his belt, he entered the year with nine career double-doubles to his name and six 20-point performances. Already this season he has three double-doubles and four 20+ point efforts. 

Laszewski is doing it all for the Irish, simply look at his ACC individual rankings – 7th in rebounds (7.8), 9th in 3PT FG% (.404), 4th in FT% (.875) and 3rd in defensive rebounds (6.9). In fact, his D-Reb average ranks 21st in the country. 

To further illustrate how unique of a player Laszewski is, take this — he’s 1-of-2 players in the country averaging at least 13 points and 7 rebounds, while shooting above .500 overall, .400 from three and .850 from the free-throw line. The other player is Jake Stephens from Chattanooga.

— ND —