| 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 |
ELMONT, N.Y. – The Notre Dame men’s basketball team will venture away from home for the first time this season in a neutral site clash with St. Bonaventure. The two sides will tip off on Friday, Nov. 25, at 4 p.m. ET, in the Gotham Classic finale in UBS Arena. That game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
BY THE NUMBERS
|
5849 |
combined career points on the 2022-23 squad – most ever in Brey Era to start a season |
|
338 |
combined starts and 633 combined games played – Coach Brey’s most veteran team in his time at the helm |
|
52.6% |
three-point shooting for Goodwin – leads the team |
|
51.9% |
shooting for Starling – ranks 4th amongst Division-I freshmen |
|
51.9% |
shooting from the field for the Irish – ranks 11th in the country |
|
23-19 |
Brey is now 23-19 in games decided by one point |
|
19.6 |
ppg for Laszewski – which leads all ACC players |
|
19-1 |
at home over the past two seasons |
|
15 |
NCAA Tournament victories for Coach Brey – Ties Digger Phelps for the most at ND |
|
14.0 |
ppg for Starling – ranks 3rd amongst ACC freshmen |
|
13 |
Laszewski is 1-of-13 players in Division-I reeling in over 8 rebounds per game while averaging over 2.0 made three’s per game. |
|
12.4 |
Points-per-game average for Cormac Ryan since joining the starting lineup on Feb. 9, 2022 (17 games). |
|
6 |
graduate students on the roster – most of any Power-5 team |
|
5 |
All 5 Irish starters are averaging double-digit points |
|
5-0 |
when leading at the half |
|
T-3rd |
for most 1,000-point scorers of and D-I program |
|
3 |
double-doubles for Laszewski, which ranks 4th in the country |
|
3rd |
in the country in free-throw percentage – 84.3 percent |
|
2 |
20-plus point scoring performances for Goodwin and Laszewski |
|
2 |
Irish rank in the nation’s top-4 in minutes played per game – Goodwin and Laszewski |
NATE THE GREAT
Nate Laszewski recorded 3 straight double-doubles to start the year and was one rebound shy against Lipscomb for making it 4-for-4. His 3 double-doubles ranks 4th in the country.
He’s averaging an ACC best 19.6 ppg – also a career best for Nate. Meanwhile, his 8.8 rpg rank 6th in the ACC and his 58.0 percent shooting rank 3rd.
He’s converting 2.2 made three-pointers per game – which leads the team. He’s 1-of-13 players in Division-I reeling in over 8 rebounds per game while averaging over 2.0 made three’s per game.
CLOSERS
One of the biggest takeaways from the first 5 games is this – Irish down the stretch get clutch.
Game 1 vs Radford – Irish make 6 of their last 9 from the field over the final 8:22
Game 2 vs YSU – Irish make its last six from the field over the final 4:29
Game 3 vs USI – Irish make its last 11-of-15 over the final 11:33.
Game 4 vs Lipscomb – Dane Goodwin converts a three with 14 seconds left for the go-ahead game-winner.
Game 5 vs Bowling Green – The Irish end the game on a 23-5 scoring run. ND made 9 of its last 12 from the field starting at the 10:25 mark.
STAR(LING) FRESHMAN
All the talk about the grad school vets but there’s a freshmen named JJ Starling looking to make a name for himself in the collegiate landscape.
Starling, who was ranked 18th by ESPN and was the highest ranked ND recruit since at least 2007 (when ESPN recruiting database began), is off to a fantastic start – averaging 14.0 ppg. In fact, he ranks 3rd in scoring amongst ACC freshmen.
He took over the Bowling Green game on Nov. 22 – pouring in 23 points on a near-perfect 10-for-11 shooting night. He joins Torin Francis (10-11 vs Arizona on 3/27/2003) as the only other freshman in ND history to make at least 10 field goals while only missing one from the floor.
Furthermore, his 23 points currently stands as a single game high amongst ACC freshmen. Nationally it’s tied for 15th.
Shooting wise, his 51.9 percent from the field leads all freshmen guards in the nation. Overall (all positions), his shooting percentage ranks 4th in the nation amongst true freshmen.
Starling first impressed with a 17-point breakout performance vs Youngstown State on Nov. 13. Starling went clutch mode, making back-to-back treys under the two-minute mark to help clinch the win.
DANE FEELIN GOOD(WIN)
Dane entered the year with 8 20+ point scoring performances and now has two through five games.
He’s currently averaging a career best 15.4 ppg on a career high 54.9 percent shooting – as the latter ranks 6th in the ACC.
He’s connecting on 52.6 percent from deep (10-of-19) and he’s doing so late in games – hitting a trey with 2:48 left against USI and 14 seconds left against Lipscomb.
Goodwin carried the Irish to a 66-65 victory over Lipscomb, hitting the go-ahead three and game-winner with 14 seconds left. Goodwin tied his career high in made three-pointers, converting 6-of-8 from deep. He finished with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
And oh by the way, he’s a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line.
EARLY SPURTS FROM WERTZ
It’s a been a big jump for Trey Wertz this season as he’s been absolutely dynamic on the offensive end of the court.
For the first time of his Irish career, Wertz fired off three straight double-digit scoring games (it marked the 5th time in his collegiate career).
First, Wertz fired off 18 points against Radford, connecting on three treys in a row from 8:22-6:51 in the second half.
Then it was 15 points against Youngstown State. Next, it was a season high 20 points against Southern Indiana, which included 12 points in the 2nd half.
Wertz is connecting on 13-of-17 from two-point range. He leads teh team in both steals (1.6) and assists (4.0).
Lastly, he’s made a trey in all five games – averaging a team best 2.2 three’s per game alongside Laszewski.
SPECIAL ABILITY UNLOCKED – FT SHOOTING
Game 1 – 21-of-25
Game 2 – 14-of-15
Game 3 – 23-of-28
Game 4 – 4-of-5
Game 5 – 13-of-16
Total – 75-of-89
With that said, Notre Dame ranks 3rd in the country in free-throw percentage, converting 84.3 percent of its shots.
LEARNED HOW TO WIN AND THEN SOME
The quote you heard from Coach Brey often this preseason – “these guys learned how to win last year and now they are ready for the challenge.”
This experienced Irish group went 15-5 in the ACC, earning the No. 2 seed in the league tournament. They then made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017, earning a First Four spot. Notre Dame defeated Rutgers in double OT and then Alabama before falling to Texas Tech closely in the Second Round.
Fast forward to now and that experience has paid off. First, the Irish battled back to take the lead against Radford with 9.5 seconds left for the 79-76 win. Against Youngstown State, it was a three-point game with 2:26 remaining, but the Irish staved off the attack and clinched the 88-81 victory. Then it was Dane Goodwin’s go-ahead three-pointer with 14 seconds left to remain unbeaten for the 66-65 win over Lipscomb.
— ND —