Game 19 Preview: Irish Wear Green

Notre Dame Notes

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s basketball team (9-9, 1-6) has a pair of revenge games to host inside Purcell Pavilion – games in which they were leading in both but couldn’t hang on during the final stretch. The first of those is Tuesday night with Florida State (5-13, 3-4). That matchup will tip off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

It’ll also be an Irish Wear Green game. Students will receive a special green Protect Purcell t-shirt while the players will don the classic green Irish jerseys. Notre Dame last wore green on Dec. 7, 2019.

ND vs FLORIDA STATE

Notre Dame trails the overall series 8-5 but owns a strong 4-1 record at home against the Seminoles. In those five games at Purcell, the Irish have netted a combined margin of +55 – with all four victories being decided by 10 points or more. 

The two sides have already met this season, back on Dec. 21. The Irish rallied late, ending the game on a 6-0 run with two big defensive stands in the final minute to have a chance at the win with six seconds left. The in-bounds play was drawn up perfectly as Cormac Ryan was wide open running down the middle of the court, but the pass to him was overthrown. It would have been a wide-open breakaway layup for the win. However, FSU took it 73-72. 

JJ Starling was solely responsible for the 6-0 run at the end of the game and finished with a team-high 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Cormac Ryan also had a solid game, contributing 17 points. 

GAMES GETTING AWAY

The Irish have now had three ACC games in which they’ve garnered double-digit leads, only to succumb to the opponent’s rally and suffer defeat. Coach Brey has emphasized that this group has to learn, and quickly, how to close out games, especially on the road. 

Largest Lead Given Out in Loss

12 at Syracuse (12:54 in 2H), 1/14/23

11 at Florida State (10:41 in 1H), 12/21/22

10 at Boston College (17:53 in 2H), 1/3/23

And what’s tough specifically about the Syracuse and Boston College losses was that Notre Dame led for almost the entire game in both. Take this stat – in those two games, Notre Dame led for a combined 63:38 out of the 80 minutes. More on that below

A DIFFERENCE OF A FEW POSSESSIONS

A difference in a few possessions – one in each of the following games – Syracuse x2, Florida State, Boston College – and the Irish could easily be sitting at 4-3 in ACC play. 

1st game vs. 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.

2nd game at Syracuse – Irish led for a majority, 26:19 in fact, leading as much as 12 points with 12:54 to play. However, the Orange ultimately closed the game on a 24-10 scoring run, stealing the victory from the Irish in the closing minutes. The Irish, who made a season-high 15 three-pointers in the contest, suddenly went cold, missing 8 of their last 9 three-pointer attempts. 

THE POSITIVES OUT OF SYRACUSE

Offensively, that was one of ND’s best games of the season. They converted a season-best 15 three-pointers. In fact, they recorded a stretch in which they made 11 of 16 three attempts. But as much as the three-ball giveth, the three-ball taketh, as one has to wonder if they could have gotten a few more – for the Irish missed on 8 of their last 9 three attempts of the game. 

Next, the Irish dished out a season-high 21 assists on 27 made baskets. Plus, they didn’t turn the ball over much, only committing five in the game. 

Four different Irish had at least three treys – Laszewski, Wertz, Hammond and Goodwin. 

Hammond shone bright with a season-best 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 4-for-7 clip from three. 

23 IN ‘23

Goodwin has found his offensive rhythm and is Notre Dame’s best player right now with 6 straight games in double figures. He’s amassed 86 points in the last 6 games, averaging 14.3 ppg. He is 35-of-69 from the field and 9-of-24 from three. 

In 2023 (4 games), Goodwin is averaging 15.0 ppg. He’s also been more active on the glass grabbing 27 boards over the last 4 games.

He had a season high 6 assists to go with his 15 points at Syracuse on Jan. 14. A game prior vs Georgia Tech, he produced a team high 19 points and a career best 12 rebounds. Goodwin connected on a big three in the overtime period to help seal the win.  

“THAT WAS MARCUS HAMMOND”

Marcus Hammond is starting to get in a groove as of late and be that guy that Coach Brey thought he could be for the Irish. 

He has 64 points over the last 6 games, averaging 10.7 points in that span. Specifically, he’s been stellar from three, connecting on multiple treys in 5 of the last 6 games (14-of-30). 

Hammond is coming off a season best 18 points behind a season high four three-pointers at Syracuse on Jan. 14. He led the team in scoring and even flashed his fast-break prowess with a couple great drives in the 2nd half. 

Now 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.  

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

MILESTONE APPROACHING

Cormac Ryan sits at 984 career points, which spans his four-year career (including his freshman year at Stanford). However, he still needs 225 points to reach 1,000 at Notre Dame. 

THREAT FROM THREE

Over the last 12 games, Notre Dame has knocked down 118 three-pointers (9.8 per game) which leads all Power-Five schools since Nov. 30. 

Overall on the season, they are averaging 9.1 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 into the recent three-point shooting trends of the team:

– Wertz – 12-of-23 from deep in the last 5 games aka 52.2 percent. Trey’s last 6 made buckets have all been three-pointers. Going further back, 9 of Trey’s last 10 made buckets have been threes. Trey tied his season high of four at Syracuse on Jan. 14 and the game prior he made two clutch late threes in the OT win versus Georgia Tech. 

– Hammond – connected on multiple threes in 5 of the last 6 games. He’s 14-for-30 during that stretch. And here’s a stat for you – Hammond is shooting better from three (.450) than overall from the field (.437). Lastly, his .450 three-point percentage leads the team. 

– Ryan – has made a three in 13 straight games and has made one in all but two games this season. 

— ND —