Hoops Preview: Notre Dame at Pittsburgh
NOTRE DAME (11-2) AT PITTSBURGH (11-2)
Where: Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pa. (12,508)
Rankings: Notre Dame is ranked No. 24 in the AP poll; Pittsburgh is unranked.
Time/TV: 2 p.m./ESPN3
Matchup history: This is the 62nd all-time meeting between Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. The Irish lead the series by a 31-30 margin. Pittsburgh has won all three meetings since the teams joined the ACC.
Notre Dame Notes
Notre Dame begins Atlantic Coast Conference play today. Since the 2000-01 season, Notre Dame is 11-5 in its conference opener, including wins in 11 of the last 13 games.
The Irish will try and get back to the NCAA Tournament, which starts with building a strong in-conference resume.
"This is going to be the hardest thing we ever did with the depth of this league, but I like the group that we have doing it," head coach Mike Brey said. "It would be a heck of a New Year's Eve if we were on a one-game (league) win streak."
The Irish have been arguably the league’s third-best team in the past two seasons. Outside of Virginia (29-7) and Duke (26-10), no ACC program has won as many games the previous two conference seasons than Notre Dame (25-11).
Notre Dame had ups during its non-league schedule, but didn’t come away with victories in its two biggest games — narrow losses to Villanova and Purdue in which the Irish had double-digit leads.
Starting ACC play on the right note will start with junior forward Bonzie Colson, who leads the league in double-doubles (seven) and is averaging 16.2 points and 10.2 rebounds.
A few stats to chew on:
• Notre Dame is averaging just 9.2 turnovers per game, the lowest mark in Division I. The Irish also have an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.03, the best in the country.
• The Irish continue to be the best free throw shooting team in the nation, averaging 84.7 percent from the line.
• Notre Dame also leads the ACC in the following categories: assists (18.7 per game), 3-point field goal percentage (40.1) and 3-point field goals made (10.2 per game).
• Sophomore reserve wing Rex Pflueger began the season with 218 minutes of turnover-free basketball. That streak came to an end against Saint Peter’s Dec. 28.
Matt Farrell — Missed his first free throw of the season against Saint Peter’s. He is now 28-of-29 this season.
Steve Vasturia — On pace to become just the fourth Notre Dame player to start 100 consecutive games in a career at Florida State on Jan. 18, 2017. He currently has 94 straight starts.
V.J. Beachem — Has scored in double figures 12 times this season, second-most on the team.
Bonzie Colson — Became the first Irish player since Jerian Grant to score 10 or more points in the team’s first 13 games of the season.
Martinas Geben — Grabbed seven rebounds in 19 minutes in Notre Dame’s win over Saint Peter’s.
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Pittsburgh Overview
The Panthers are one of eight teams in the 15-team ACC with at least 11 wins entering today’s game, having most recently tallied a 112-106 win over Marshall Dec. 28. The senior trio of Michael Young, Jamel Artis and Sheldon Jeter combined for 81 points in the victory.
Young, a 6-foot-9 forward, and Artis, a 6-7 forward, each had 30 points. Young leads the team in scoring at 22.8 per game, while Artis averages 20.8.
Sophomore guard Cameron Johnson is the third leading scorer at 12.4 points a game.
Pittsburgh, under the direction of first-year head coach Kevin Stallings — who previously coached at Vanderbilt — is currently unranked in the Associated Press poll, but comes in at No. 24 in the RPI and has a 5-1 record against teams in the top 100.
Pittsburgh’s two best wins of the season came against Marquette and Maryland. The Panthers fell to SMU in their third game of the season and to Duquesne on Dec. 2.
The Panthers are the No. 37 team in the country in scoring, averaging 82.3 points per game. Notre Dame is 30th at 83.6 a game.
“They’re playing a little free flowing and attacking,” Brey said of Pittsburgh. “They can really score it and our defense will really be challenged. They play a little bit of zone, but they have two guys getting 20 a night. Of course the opener here last year, I don’t think they missed a shot for 20 minutes.”
The Panthers are averaging 90.8 points per game on 53.2 percent shooting from the field over the past five games.
Notre Dame will also have to go on the road for its ACC opener, a situation that Brey sees his team thriving in.
“They’ll be another level of edge,” Brey said. “The one thing about our group is that we have played well away from our building. We have liked getting out and having our backs against the wall. It’s a nice trait to have given that you have nine tough places to deal with coming up.”
Outlook
Though the Irish are slight favorites in their league opener, but the Panthers are 21-2 at the Petersen Events Center since the start of 2012-13 season in the month of December. Notre Dame has proven it can get off to a strong start in hostile situations — against Villanova and Purdue — but finishing is the question.
In a tight game, expect the ball to be in Farrell’s hands. This time, Notre Dame comes away with a close victory.
Prediction: Notre Dame 73, Pittsburgh 70
Vegas Spread: Pittsburgh -1
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