| 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 |
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s basketball team (6-2) will be searching for a bounce-back win on Wednesday night with a foe Mike Brey remembers from his Delaware days in Boston University (5-4). The Irish will host the Terriers at 7 p.m. ET inside Purcell Pavilion, with the game streaming on ACCNX. The Irish are 3-0 all-time against Boston, with all three contests being in South Bend.
HEATING UP
There are three Irish players in particular that are trending onwards and upwards.
Cormac Ryan — He’s 10-of-15 from three over the past two games. He’s averaging 18.5 ppg in those two games, shooting 13-of-22 overall from the floor.
Ven-Allen Lubin — 3 double-digit scoring performances over the last 4 games – averaging 9.0 ppg and 7.3 rpg in that span. He’s 17-for-26 in those 4 games. Plus his first career double-double on Nov. 25 vs St. Bonaventure, posting 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Dane Goodwin — 5-of-8 from three over the last two games, totaling 28 points. Season-high 9 rebounds vs Syracuse on Dec. 3. Also tallied 16 points.
NATE’S GREAT START
Nate is leading the team in scoring with his 15.0 ppg which ranks 12th in the ACC and also marks a career best.
Laszewski ranks in the top-15 of five different statistical categories in the ACC — 7th in rebounds (8.4), 13th in 3PT FG% (.400), 2nd in FT% (.872), 2nd in defensive rebounds (7.5). In fact his 7.5 defensive rebounds per game rank 16th in the country.
He’s 1-of-8 players in the country averaging at least 15 points, 8 rebounds while shooting over 40.0 percent from three.
Lastly, he entered the year with six 20-point scoring games – he already has two this year.
SCOREMAC RYAN
The Michigan State game on Nov. 30 saw the return of the Scoremac. He was a man possessed in the first half, scoring 20 of the team’s 42 points in which they boasted a 42-24 lead. Thus he nearly outscored the Spartans that half. He went 5-for-5 from deep and 7-of-8 overall. He ultimately finished the game with season high 23 points and a perfect 6-for-6 from three.
And Ryan is no stranger to that kind of performance. He went 7-for-9 from three in the big NCAA Tournament win over Alabama last March, scoring 29 points.
All-in-all, since joining the Irish starting lineup on Feb. 9, 2022, Ryan has averaged 12.8 ppg (carrying over into this season as well).
This season, he’s gone 5-for-8 in double-digit scoring performances, plus the game-winning basket against Radford.
#PROTECTPURCELL
Notre Dame’s court may have gotten a facelift this offseason and sport a new look, but the same home court advantage still applies.
Last season, the Irish went 14-1 inside Purcell Pavilion, and this year they are off to a 6-1 start which includes a ranked win over No. 20 Michigan State. Thus, they are 20-2 at home over their last 22 home games.
PEEP THESE TRENDING STATS
The Irish are currently leading the country in fouls per game, only committing an average of 10.5.
Next, they rank 1st in the country in turnovers per game, only surrendering 8.5.
Lastly, they rank 6th in free-throw percentage, converting 81.2 percent from the stripe – leads the ACC as well.
ALL FIVE STARTERS IN DOUBLE FIGURES
How about this – all five starters are averaging double-digit points. How common is that? In terms of Power-Five conference teams – only UCLA, Nebraska and Kentucky can claim the same as well.
STAR(LING) FRESHMAN
All the talk about the grad school vets but there’s a freshman 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 12.3 ppg. In fact, he ranks 3rd in scoring amongst ACC freshmen. The top two spots belong to Duke’s Kyle Filipowski (15.2 ppg) and Syracuse’s Judah Mintz (14.4 ppg). All-in-all, they’re the only 3 ACC freshmen in double figures.
However, JJ does boast the best shooting percentage amongst ACC freshmen, converting 44.4 percent. In fact, his shooting percentage ranks 6th nationally amongst D-I freshmen guards. Diving deeper, he’s shooting a hot 55.2 percent from two-point range.
He took over the Bowling Green game on Nov. 22 – pouring in 23 points on a near-perfect 10-for-11 shooting night. He joined 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.
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.
He led second half scorers against Michigan State, scoring nine of his 14 points.
DANE FEELIN GOOD(WIN)
Dane entered the year with 8 20+ point scoring performances and now has two already.
He’s currently averaging a career best 14.3 ppg on 49.4 percent shooting. Goodwin is connecting on 51.6 percent from deep (13-of-27) – team best – also ranks 2nd in the ACC.
Goodwin has hit some big late three’s as well – hitting a trey with 2:48 left against USI and 14 seconds left against Lipscomb. The latter was the gamewinner in a 66-65 victory over Lipscomb. 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.