HOOPS Preview: Notre Dame At Syracuse

NOTRE DAME (12-3, 2-0 ACC) VS. SYRACUSE (12-3, 1-1 ACC)

Where: Carrier Dome (Syracuse, NY)

Rankings: Both teams enter the matchup unranked.

Time/TV: 3:15 p.m. ET/ESPN2

Last Meeting: Jan. 21, 2017. Notre Dame 84-66

Series Info: Syracuse leads the all-time series 20-28.

Notre Dame is 2-0 in ACC play and will face a familiar foe in Syracuse this afternoon at the Carrier Dome.

The Irish won the last meeting between the two programs and are seeking consecutive wins over the Orange for the first time capturing a victory during the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 seasons.

A win today would also mark the first ACC win for Notre Dame inside the Carrier Dome.

Here is a quick overview on each team heading into the matchup and a prediction of the outcome.

Heading into this past Wednesday’s matchup against NC State, most didn’t know what to expect out of Notre Dame after the loss of star forward Bonzie Colson.

To make matters worse, point guard Matt Farrell went down in the first half with a sprained ankle and will likely miss this afternoon’s contest.

But, the Irish got big games from TJ Gibbs (22), DJ Harvey (17) and Rex Pflueger (16) to take down the Wolfpack 88-58 to move to 2-0 in conference play. Big man Martinas Geben added 10 points and 13 rebounds to the team’s efforts.

Mike Brey has quite the challenge ahead of him trying to find a rotation to help minimize the losses of Colson and potentially Farrell. Not only their production, but their leadership on the court as well.

To replace Colson this past Wednesday, Harvey made his first career start while big men John Mooney, Elijah Burns and Austin Torres each saw their minutes increased.

Now, Brey will likely have to do the same to make up for Farrell’s absence. One option is pushing Mooney into the starting lineup and go with a group of Gibbs, Pflueger, Harvey, Mooney and Geben. Another is giving sophomore guard Nik Djogo a starting nod and let Harvey play the ‘four’ again.

But, it is more likely Djogo will serves as the backup point guard to relieve Gibbs at times or allow a break for Pflueger.

No matter how Brey decides to approach it from the beginning, today’s game will give Djogo a chance at extended minutes and an opportunity to earn more minutes once Farrell returns back to the rotation.

Harvey made the most of his opportunity on Wednesday. Is Djogo next in line?

The Orange started ACC play with a good win at home against Virginia Tech (68-56), but fell to a then 7-6 Wake Forest team (73-67).

During the non-conference slate, Syracuse lost to Kansas (76-60) and St. Bonaventure (60-57) and picked up solid wins over Maryland, Connecticut and Georgetown.

Entering ACC play, Syracuse features three scorers who make up around 70 percent of the team’s offense. Overall, the team scores 71.4 points per contest while shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 30.7 percent on its three-point attempts.

Sophomore guard Tyus Battle leads the way averaging 19.4 point per game. The 6-foot-6 guard is a tough matchup on the perimeter. Battle is joined in the backcourt by 6-foot-5 guard Frank Howard. The junior is averaging 15.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per contest.

Syracuse will present a ton of size to challenge the Irish. Freshman 6-foot-8 forward Oshae Brissett is third on the team in scoring at 15.5 points while contributing 9.7 rebounds. Brissett is joined by sophomore forward Matthew Moyer. The 6-foot-8 Moyer is averaging 4.7 points and 5.5 rebounds.

The size takes another step when factoring in center Paschal Chukwu. The junior stands 7-foot-2 and is averaging 5.7 points and 5.9 rebounds for Jim Boeheim.

Syracuse features three players off the bench typically and Boeheim will continue to throw size at the team’s opponents with the trio. Freshman forward Marek Dolezaj (6-foot-9) is the top scorer at 4.5 points and 5.3 rebounds while freshman forward Bourama Sidibe (6-foot-10) contributes 3.5 points and 3.4 rebounds.

Freshman guard Howard Washington (6-foot-3) is also part of the group but isn’t much of a scoring factor.

Like most Syracuse teams, this one present a dominant defense that allows just 62.9 points which ranked 20th in the country as of Jan. 5. The group also outrebound its opponents 41.0-31.7.

Teams are shooting just 38.6 percent from the floor against the Orange and 33.7 percent behind the arc.

Notre Dame proved the team can play well without Colson and Farrell. But, Syracuse isn’t NC State.

The Orange are one of the best teams defensively and will present a tougher challenge for Brey’s group to navigate. It’s going to be a tough task for the Irish to win on the road against Syracuse without its stars.

Notre Dame will likely need big games from Gibbs, Harvey and Pflueger again in order to grab the victory.

Prediction

Syracuse 68, Notre Dame 66

The Irish played so well against the Wolfpack that it is hard to see them replicating that performance. Syracuse is also a better team defensively and has much more size to take advantage of Colson’s absence.

Gibbs will now be counted on to be the first scoring option for the Irish and will have to run the offense as well. Notre Dame has the talent to win this game even without Colson and likely Farrell, but it will take a team effort.

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