Notre Dame went into its Dec. 6 meeting with Detroit Mercy — a thrice-altered date for the home opener — needing a game as much as it needed a win.
The Irish were eight days removed from an opening-night 80-70 loss to Michigan State, their season defined by the deletion of three games due to opponent’s roster availability issues more than their size and athleticism shortcomings against the Spartans.
By Dec. 6, Notre Dame was supposed to have played two home games, one against Western Michigan and another against Tennessee. Those were canceled. A last-minute addition game against Purdue Fort Wayne came and went in the span of about 48 hours. head coach Mike Brey lined up the game with Detroit Mercy to avoid a 10-day stretch where his team played only itself.
“We had to get a game in,” Brey said after Notre Dame beat Detroit Mercy 78-70. “Thankfully Detroit was in the same boat when Purdue Fort Wayne called us [to cancel].”
The week leading to it was a roller-coaster of near-daily changes, with games flying on and off Notre Dame’s slate and the schedules of teams across the country. College basketball has stayed afloat in its first two weeks despite cancellations and other COVID-19 news that has grabbed attention as much as any specific on-court event. Following the stream of changes is nauseating. The only certainty is uncertainty, a reality that can be mentally taxing.
“Coach Brey always says, ‘Let’s be tougher than the year,’” forward Nate Laszewski said. “There will be ups and downs. If a game gets canceled, we just come in and we practice. We do our job, go to work.”
That’ll be the mindset needed for the entire season. So far, Notre Dame seems strong with it. Give them a time and place for a game, and they’ll be there. If a game’s off, back to the lab for more fine-tuning. The worry of slumbering into a game because of a dip in edge is enough motivation to stay standing with each haymaker COVID-19 lands on the schedule.
“They just roll with it,” Brey said. “I probably got more anxious than them when we kept losing opportunities. They just come in and we tell them, ‘Here’s the deal.’ That’s going to serve us well. We’re mature, we get it, we get the big picture and we know we’re living day-to-day.”
Added guard Dane Goodwin: “Our normalcy is coming to practice and being ready to play. We’re going to have things happen here and there and we’re not exactly going to know what’s going on at all times. Our upperclassmen need to carry that on with the rest of the team and being ready, new opponents, new games.”
As of now, the meat of the daunting non-conference schedule Brey assembled remains intact. Tennessee, a preseason top-15 team that has not played, is the only casualty of particular consequence so far. Notre Dame begins a stretch of challenging games Tuesday when it hosts No. 22 Ohio State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge (7:30 p.m., ESPN2).
Following it are games at Kentucky Dec. 12, versus No. 10 Duke Dec. 16, versus Purdue in Indianapolis Dec. 19, at Syracuse Dec. 22 and versus No. 18 Virginia Dec. 30.
“We hadn’t played a different opponent for months,” Laszewski said. “Hopefully those games stay.”
The CDC’s decision to take four days off its initial two-week quarantine recommendation for anyone exposed to the virus should help. Per Stadium’s Jeff Goodman, several teams who were paused for 14 days due to positive tests within Tier 1 personnel (players, coaches, staff) lowered their quarantine period to 10 days on the heels of the CDC’s amendment.
The ACC will also use GPS technology in conference games for more precise contact tracing to help avoid the quarantining of entire rosters.
“We’re ready to roll with the punches,” Goodwin said. “We just have to stay ready. At any given time, things can change.”
Game Pressure A Good Thing
Ideally, Brey would have liked a more comfortable margin against a Horizon League opponent, but in this context, he was happy to see Notre Dame do everything necessary in a contested game to grab a win. Heading into the meat of the schedule having faced some late-game stress is okay with him, too.
Notre Dame needed to make big shots late. It did — with help from a few contributors. Goodwin supplied a go-ahead layup with 5:39 to go. Guard Cormac Ryan made a three-pointer on the next possession to take a four-point lead, and forward Juwan Durham’s layup pushed the lead to seven. Guard Prentiss Hubb assisted on Ryan and Durham’s buckets.
Three scores. Three straight possessions. Three different players, plus the point guard and team leader setting two of them up.
“To win a hard game and to have to do some stuff, we can build on it,” Brey said.
And on the other end, the Irish needed to get stops. After Antoine Davis’ jumper put Detroit Mercy ahead 63-62 with 5:53 remaining in the game, Notre Dame didn’t allow another point until Davis scored again with 55 seconds left. Davis, a microwave scorer with a career 25.2 points-per-game averge entering this year, gave the Titans some juice with his go-ahead fadeaway and slapped the floor on his way back down the court.
Notre Dame proved capable of meeting that energy level. Brey pointed to Ryan in particular as an energizer. The Stanford transfer took two charges, made a pair of threes and ended with 12 points in 36 minutes. He committed no fouls or turnovers. When he caught Hubb’s pass on the right wing, he rose up and let one fly. Good all the way.
“You can’t coach that,” Brey said. “There’s a fearlessness to want to put a dagger in and give us a two-possession lead.”
If Notre Dame can pick one thing to have throughout this assuredly topsy-turvy year, fearlessness is a good place to start.
Ohio State At Notre Dame
When: Tuesday, Dec. 6, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Purcell Pavilion
Records: Ohio State 3-0, Notre Dame 1-1
Series history: Ohio State leads 8-5
Notre Dame projected starters: G Prentiss Hubb (20.5 ppg, 5.0 apg), G Cormac Ryan (12.5 ppg, 41.7 3P%, G Dane Goodwin (13.5 ppg, 3.0 apg), F Nate Laszewski (14.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg), F Juwan Durham (8.0 ppg, 3.5 bpg)
Ohio State projected starters: G C.J. Walker (11.3 ppg, 5.0 apg), G Duane Washington (14.7 ppg, 36.4 3P%), G Justice Sueing (15.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg), F E.J. Liddell (14.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg), F Kyle Young (8.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg)
Noting Ohio State: The Buckeyes are No. 22 in the AP poll with wins over Illinois State, UMass Lowell and Morehead State…Sueing is in his first season with Ohio State after averaging 14.1 points per game in two years at Cal…Ohio State went 21-10 and 11-9 in the Big Ten last season…Its 2019-20 leading scorer, second-team All-Big Ten forward Kaleb Wesson, left to pursue a pro career.
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