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Game 18 Preview: Revenge in Mind

Irish at Orange | Saturday, Jan. 14 | 7 p.m. ET | ACC Network | JMA Wireless Dome

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1ST ROUND:#13 GEORGIA TECH | TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2 PM ET | ACCN
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – “Winning is contagious.” The Notre Dame men’s basketball squad will look to put that quote to the test on Saturday when they travel to New York to challenge Syracuse inside the JMA Wireless Dome. It’ll be a revenge matchup for the Irish, as they carry some momentum into the matchup from their 73-72 overtime win against Georgia Tech this past Tuesday. The Irish and Orange will square off at 7 p.m. ET on ACC Network. The radio broadcast for this game has been moved to 96.1 The Ton. 

ND vs SYRACUSE

Syracuse was Notre Dame’s first league game of the year and what was the first of a few last-minute ‘Unluck of the Irish’ moments. The first meeting between these two went like this:

Cormac Ryan, who connected on a big three with 1:16 on the clock, cut it to 60-58. An Irish defensive stand later and this time it was Marcus Hammond with a big and-one with the shot clock winding down which gave the Irish a 61-60 lead with 29.5 seconds left. 

Out of the Syracuse timeout, the Orange converted on its next play with a layup, making it 62-61 visitors. Irish then had the ball with a chance to win it with 14.2 seconds left. With fouls to give, Syracuse brought the clock down to seven seconds. After the in-bounds play, the Irish were forced to take a tough three in the corner and it fell short.

Dane Goodwin led with 16 points and nine rebounds. Syracuse marked one of Ven-Allen Lubin’s best games of the season, as the freshman notched 10 points and eight boards. 

1 GAME WIN STREAK

Coach Brey kept mentioning it after the 0-4 start, then the 0-5 start – ‘If we can just get a one-game win streak right now, we can get the monkey off our back and get going.’ 

What was impressive with the Irish performance against Georgia Tech on Jan. 10 was that they rallied down seven with 2:20 to go. They even forced a shot-clock violation on Georgia Tech’s final possession of regulation and had a chance for the win. In overtime, they took each Georgia Tech punch and dished one back. The Yellow Jackets scored first, then Goodwin responded with a three. Georgia Tech counters with a three, but then Wertz hits his second three of the game (hit a corner three earlier to tie the game 65-all in regulation). Georgia Tech makes two free throws, but then Laszewski comes up clutch and goes to line and hits two. With 23 seconds on the clock, the defense held its own once more. 

VOCAL LEADER – RYAN

A three-time captain, Ryan used his voice and his leadership ability to rally the Irish in a huddle down seven with 2:30 to go against Georgia Tech on Jan. 10. 

“C-Mac’s huddle,” said Brey. “Coach didn’t need to say anything. The guys react to him. He was unbelievable. Cormac wants it so bad. He’s invested so much.”

Notre Dame then closed regulation on a 9-2 run to tie the game at 65-all to force overtime, where they ultimately won it 73-72. 

“Cormac kind of lit a fire under us and I think that certainly helped,” Goodwin said. “He just kind of got into us. It happens. That’s what a veteran leader should do. I think we responded well and I think we responded how we should have.”

BREY IN OVERTIME

Coach Brey and the Irish have been a force in overtime games the past couple of years. With the 73-72 OT victory over Georgia Tech on Jan. 10, the Irish have now won four straight overtime games and five of their last six – which dates back to Toledo on Jan. 21, 2019. 

Overall, Brey is 26-13 in overtime, with a .667 winning percentage. Or how about this stat – he’s 23-6 in his last 29 OT games. A full list can be found in his bio on page 9. 

MILESTONES APPROACHING

The Syracuse matchup on Saturday will mark a special one for Coach Brey – his 900th career game as a head coach, spanning his Delaware days.

Cormac Ryan sits at 981 career points, which spans his four year career and freshman year at Stanford. 

Marcus Hammond sits at 1,491 career points and is nine off from the 1500-point milestone. He accumulated 1422 points in four years at Niagara. 

DANE TRENDING

Goodwin has found his offensive rhythm with 5 straight games in double figures. He’s amassed 71 points in the last 5 games, averaging 14.2 ppg. He is 29-of-56 from the field and 6-of-15 from three. 

In 2023 (3 games), Goodwin is averaging 15.0 ppg, which ranks as the 12th best scoring average in the ACC since Jan. 1. He’s also been more active on the glass grabbing 25 boards over the last 3 games.

He had a team high 19 points and a career best 12 rebounds in the ACC win over Georgia Tech on Jan. 10. Goodwin connected on a big three in the overtime period. 

JJ FINDING HIMSELF

Starling has recorded double-digit points in 8 of the last 9 games and has produced the most overall double-digit scoring performances on the team this season with 13. 

One of the main reasons for the recent surge — 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 14-of-31 from beyond the arc over the last 9 games aka 45.2 percent. Compare that to his season 3PT FG% of .349.  

He’s putting his stamp of play on several recent games. For example, with 5 minutes left vs Georgia Tech on Jan. 10, Starling scored 6 of the team’s final 11 points to help force overtime and the eventual win. Starling finished with 16 points. 

JJ co-led the team in scoring at BC with 16 points. Prior, 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.

WINS VS LOSSES

The stats that stick out:

– Points – ND is averaging 75.6 ppg in wins versus a dropoff of  62.8 in losses. Defensively, not much of a difference, allowing 66 in wins vs. 72.6 in losses, proving the emphasis is on the offense. 

– FG% – shooting 48.8 percent in wins vs. 41.8 percent in losses

– 3PT – Interesting to note that teams are shooting better against us from three in games Notre Dame wins vs. loses. In wins, opponents are averaging 6.9 threes per game at a 34.4 percent rate. In losses, 5.6 threes per game at 29.6 percent rate. Offensively, Notre Dame makes the same amount of threes with the same shooting percentage in wins and losses. 

– FT Made – ND is averaging 12.8 makes in wins vs. 6.6 in losses. In fact, in losses, opponents have made more free throws (88) than Notre Dame has even attempted (78). 

NOTRE NOTABLES

The Irish currently rank in the top-10 in three different statistical categories. Their highest ranking – 2nd in fouls per game – only committing 12.6. That has been a Coach Brey staple. In the last 12 years, Notre Dame has only failed to finish among the top 10 in least amount of personal fouls committed just once. They have also led the country in least amount of personal fouls five times.  

Next, they rank 4th in the country in turnovers per game, only surrendering 9.5. 

Furthermore, if the Irish can get to the free-throw line in late-game situations, look out. They rank 22nd in free-throw percentage, converting 76.1 percent from the stripe – ranks 3rd in the ACC.  Goodwin, Ryan and Laszewski are all shooting above .860 from the stripe.

A DIFFERENCE OF A FEW POSSESSIONS

A difference in a few possessions – one in each of the following games in fact (Syracuse, Florida State, Boston College) and the Irish could easily be sitting at 3-1 in ACC play. 

Syracuse – Down five, with under 1:20 to play, Cormac Ryan and Marcus Hammond recorded back-to-back three-point plays to go up 61-60, but the Orange answered with 14 seconds on the clock. Notre Dame couldn’t connect on the buzzer-beater, falling 62-61.

Florida State – With six seconds remaining on the clock down one, Notre Dame ran a great in-bounds play to Wertz but his next pass to an open and sprinting Cormac Ryan was thrown just a tad too high/long as the Seminoles tracked it down and escaped with a 73-72 win. The Irish were on a 6-0 run with two big defensive stands in the final minute before the final play of the game.

Boston College – The Irish led for the first 37:19 of the game but Boston College closed on a 17-4 run to take it 70-63. Notre Dame led 59-53 with 4 minutes remaining. When BC took its first lead at 1:43, 62-61, Notre Dame went 0-3 on its next three possessions.

“The older guys have been through it all on this team. I gave an example of the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, plus previous teams of mine, teams who have been dead in the water and came back.” – Coach Brey

THREAT FROM THREE

Over the last 11 games, Notre Dame has knocked down 103 three-pointers (9.4 per game) which ranks 2nd amongst Power-Five schools since Nov. 30. 

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. 

Furthermore, let’s dive in to the recent three-point shooting trends of the team:

– Goodwin – a team best 44.4 percent from deep. He’s also 6-of-15 from three over the last 5 games.

– Wertz – coming off 2 clutch late threes in OT win versus Georgia Tech. He’s now 8-of-15 from three in last 4 games aka 53.3 percent. 

– Hammond – connected on multiple threes in 4 of the last 5 games. He’s 10-for-23 during that stretch. In fact, he’s shooting better from three (.424) than overall from the field (.410).

– Ryan – has made a three in 12 straight games and has made one in all but two games this season. 

— ND —