| ACC Tournament: | #12 NOTRE DAME (12-19, 7-13) |
|---|---|
| ACC TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: | CLICK HERE |
| WHERE: | WASHINGTON D.C. | CAPITAL ONE ARENA |
| TICKETS: | PURCHASE ONLINE |
| LISTEN: | NOTRE DAME RADIO NETWORK | CLICK HERE |
| SOCIAL: | @NDMBB | #GOIRISH |
| 1ST ROUND: | #13 GEORGIA TECH | TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2 PM ET | ACCN |
| 2ND ROUND: | #5 WAKE FOREST | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2:30 PM ET | ESPN |
| QUARTERFINALS: | #4 PITT | THURSDAY, MARCH 14 , 2:30 PM ET | ESPN/2 |
| SEMIFINALS: | #1 NORTH CAROLINA/TBD | FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 7 PM ET | ESPN/2 |
| FINALS: | TBD | SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 8:30 PM ET | ESPN |
DURHAM, N.C. – At the spry age of 28, Mike Brey took an assistant coaching job at Duke which jumpstarted a career that led to the shadow of the Golden Dome here on Notre Dame’s campus. On Tuesday, Feb. 14, the Glenn & Stacey Murphy Head Coach will have a full circle moment when he takes his Fighting Irish (10-15, 2-12) into Duke (17-8, 8-6) for a 7 p.m. ET showdown on ESPN.
BREY VS DUKE
Irish are 8-28 all-time against the Blue Devils but own a fair better mark in the Brey Era with a 6-10 record. In fact, the last time the Irish visited Cameron Indoor, they walked out with a 93-89 victory. Important to note that this occurred back on Feb. 9, 2021, with no fans in the building. Regardless, it marked their first win there since 2016. If Notre Dame were to win on Tuesday, it would mark the first time in the series they have won two straight in Durham.
There was one player in particular that played well the last time the Irish were in Durham – Cormac Ryan. The guard out of New York City scored 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting, which included four threes.
Brey on coming back to Durham one last time:
“That decision, that Mike hired me as a high school coach (36) years ago, it opened up everything for me,” said Brey, who was 28 years old when he arrived at Duke. “The move that I made to Durham set me up for the rest of my career.
“Anytime we were able to beat them, especially when Mike was there, it gave our program great credibility,” he said. “To win one in there when the place was rocking was unbelievable. That’s one of the greats. You talk about the things you remember in your career here, that was awesome.”
TAKEAWAYS FROM VT GAME
Can’t deny that the offense was clicking due to a combined 50-point effort from Laszewski and Ryan. In fact, the 87 points were the second most points the Irish have scored all season, second to their 88 points against Youngstown State.
Laszewski went off for a career-high 33 points on 12-of-17 shooting, including a 6-for-9 mark from three-point range. He also grabbed a team best eight rebounds. It marked the first Irish 30-point performance since Matt Farrell dropped 37 points at Boston College on Feb. 17, 2018. The 33 points also land him in a tie for 15th place in Brey-Era single-game point totals.
Nate entered the year with six 20-point scoring games and he now has 6 on the season.
With that said, the problem continues to be defensive lapses in the second half. Virginia Tech recorded a stretch in which they made 14-of-16 from the field, pounding the ball down low. They finished with 42 points in the paint.
NATE THRIVING IN PURCELL
Home sweet home is a phrase you hear often because you just tend to play better in the friendly confines of your own arena. And this certainly holds true for Laszewski as of late.
Check this stat out – Over the last 4 home games – 97 points (24.3 ppg), 27 rebounds, 32-of-52 FG, 18-of-31 3PT.
MILESTONE HERE
All it will take is one basket on Tuesday night for Laszewski to secure over 1,500 points in his ND career. He currently ranks 18th all-time in program history and 6th in the Brey-Era in scoring.
Another stat worth noting – Laszewski is already 8 threes away from achieving a new career best for a single season. Plus, he’s 23 threes away from 250 in his career
2 STARTS – 2 GAMES IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Freshman Ven-Allen Lubin has made 2 consecutive starts and has rewarded the Irish for it with 2 games in double figures. He scored a career high 13 points at Georgia Tech, then followed that up with 11 points vs Virginia Tech. So in those 2 starts: 24 points on 11-of-15 shooting, plus 12 rebounds.
One could argue that Lubin could have had even larger numbers in both those games if it weren’t for limited minutes due to foul trouble in both.
THREAT FROM THREE
Notre Dame’s offense may struggle from time to time, but you can’t argue with the team’s three-point shooting ability. The Irish rank 2nd in the ACC in made three-pointers per game and 26th in the country, converting 9.2 per game. They also rank 2nd in three-point shooting percentage (.369). Their 9.2 threes per game would rank 4th all-time in program history – the program record is 9.7 set by the 19-20 squad.
CAREER HIGH STREAK
Cormac Ryan is currently riding a career best six-game double-digit scoring streak. He’s totaled 85 points in that span (14.2 ppg). What’s great to see about this stretch is that he’s done it in different ways: had 2 games in which he made five three-pointers. One game in which he went 6-for-6 from the line. Another in which he made all twos and went 5-for-13.
Ryan is averaging a career best 11.8 ppg. He’s also 1 three-pointer away from 200 in his career.
23 IN ‘23
Goodwin recently ended his best offensive stretch of the season – 10 straight games in double figures from Dec. 27-Jan. 28. He amassed 131 points in that span, averaging 13.1 ppg. It marked the 2nd time of his collegiate career reaching a double-digit scoring streak mark – his career best is 20 from the 21-22 season.
In 2023 (11 games), Goodwin is averaging 11.8 ppg (130 points) – which ranks 2nd on the team behind Laszewski for that time span. He’s also been more active on the glass in 2023 grabbing 73 boards aka 6.6 rpg – that number leads the team.
FEBRUARY GROOVE
Speaking of Goodwin, the man thrives in the month of February. Starting in 2021 (so over last 3 seasons), Goodwin is averaging 12.1 ppg in the month of February. He scored 112 points over 8 games in 2021. Then 81 points in 7 games in 2022. He has 25 through three games in 2023.
NOTRE NOTABLES
The Irish currently rank in the top-10 in two statistical categories. Their highest ranking – 1st in turnovers per game, only surrendering 8.7 per game.
They rank 7th in least amount of fouls per game with 13.6. That has been a Coach Brey staple for awhile. 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 23rd in A/TO Ratio – 1.31, 26th in made threes/game – 9.2 and 29th in FT% – .761.
— ND —