NOTRE DAME (10-4, 0-1 ACC) VS. SYRACUSE (9-4, 0-0 ACC)
Where: Purcell Pavilion (South Bend, Ind.)
Rankings: Both teams are unranked.
TV/Time: Raycom Network, 12 p.m. ET.
Series Facts: Syracuse leads the all-time series 28-21.
Last Meeting: Notre Dame 51-49 at Syracuse on Jan. 6, 2018.
Notre Dame's ACC home opener will take place Saturday afternoon when Syracuse travels to South Bend for their first conference contest of the 2018-2019 season.
Blue & Gold Illustrated previews both teams before they meet in South Bend.
NOTRE DAME OVERVIEW
The Irish faced a tough test right off the bat to begin ACC play facing Virginia Tech on the road. Notre Dame battled, but the Hokies pulled way in the second half for an 81-66 victory in Blacksburg.
Notre Dame fell behind by double-digits in the first half, but a 13-2 run closed the gap to 30-28 going into the break. A three-pointer from Nate Laszewski made it 43-42 Virginia Tech with five minutes played in the second half, which was the closest the Irish would get before the Hokies took over.
For Laszewski, it was the best performance of the season with a career-high 14 points, thanks to a 4-of-8 effort behind the arc. Junior guard TJ Gibbs played well leading the team with 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting while sophomore wing DJ Harvey put together a similar effort from the field for 16 total points.
Unfortunately for the Irish, forward John Mooney was the lone other top performer with 9 points and 10 rebounds. Junior forward Juwan Durham (2), freshman point guard Prentiss Hubb (3) and freshman guard Dane Goodwin (3) combined for eight points on 3-of-17 shooting, with Hubb going 1-of-10.
Notre Dame was down to seven rotation players as junior wing Nik Djogo was forced to stay in South Bend with the flu.
The Irish shot just 41.1 percent from the field, but did make 13 three-pointers (38.2 percent shooting) which is a positive heading into the team’s ACC home opener.
A stingy Syracuse team arrives in northern Indiana aiming to end a two-game losing streak against Notre Dame and put the clamps down on a young team.
Three players — Goodwin, Harvey and Hubb — will face the Orange’s famed 2-3 zone for the first time while Durham will do so for the second time after playing 15 minutes in 2016 during his one year at Connecticut.
Offensive consistency hasn’t exactly been Notre Dame’s forte this year. Another tough day from the floor would spell disaster for the Irish.
SYRACUSE OVERVIEW
It is not surprising to see the Orange rank among the nation’s best defensively heading into conference play.
Jim Boeheim’s group sits 18th nationally in points allowed per game at 61.5 to go with allowing opponents to shoot 38.5 percent (22nd) from the field and 30.3 percent behind the arc (52nd).
The dreaded 2-3 zone continues to cause problems for opponents, and Syracuse hopes that continues on the road against a young Irish team that will feature multiple players facing it for the first time.
Due to the effort defensively, Syracuse typically doesn’t set the world on fire offensively but they do not have to in order to win contests. The Orange rank 242nd in points per game (71.6), tied for 252nd in field goal percentage (32 percent and 321st in three-point percentage (29.9).
A three-man group handles a bulk of the scoring for Boeheim with guard Tyus Battle (18.0 PPG) leading the charge a year after putting up 19.2 points per game. Forwards Elijah Hughes (14.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG) and Oshae Brissett (13.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.0 APG) round out the top three producers.
Freshman guard Jalen Carey put together a solid showing during the non-conference slate averaging 6.0 points and 2.7 rebounds. Senior guard Frank Howard (5.8 PPG, 2.7 APG) serves as the final piece of the team’s top five scorers.
Senior big man Paschal Chukwu (4.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG) may get more of a look in this matchup at 7-foot-2 to counter Notre Dame’s size with Durham and Mooney in the middle of the zone. Freshman guard Buddy Boeheim (4.0 PPG) is not far behind Chukwu in terms of points, but has primarily seen an increase in his minutes during blowouts.
A trio of forwards make up the remaining main parts of the rotation for Boeheim — Marek Dolezaj (3.5 PPG, 2.6 RPG), Robert Braswell (3.0 PPG) and Bourama Sidibe (2.9 PPG).
GAME OUTLOOK
An intriguing storyline going into this one is how this young Irish team fares against Syracuse’s zone out of the gate. Notre Dame hasn’t shot it consistently from deep this year and a solid afternoon of shooting will be needed in order for the Irish to pick up their first win of ACC play.
On the flip side, Syracuse hasn’t been stellar offensively this year and has lost to four of the top five teams on its schedule. So, today will be another test for the Orange as well.
“Being good with the ball, taking care of the ball,” Mike Brey said of what is necessary against the Orange. “One thing that sneaks up on you against their zone is that people turn it over against them. We’ve beaten them two in a row and we’ve been great with the ball … even though the game in the Carrier Dome may have been one of the ugly games in the history of college basketball last year.
“They do a lot of ‘iso' stuff offensively. Guys are taking their man one on one. Can you sit down in a stance and guard your guy? We’ll play some zone too. We’ll change defenses. We’re still developing that identity — who are we on that end of the floor. You have to go for it, attack it, and be loose against their zone.
"You’ve got a shot, you’ve got to rise up and shoot it. I don’t want Dane and Nate turning down shots. Even if they take a couple of bad ones, you have to shoot over the top. What helped us last year was the offensive backboard. We’ve got to get on the board.”
Prediction
Notre Dame 67, Syracuse 65
Though Tuesday did not go how the Irish wanted to open ACC play, I think Notre Dame gets it done this afternoon.
It won’t come easy and there will probably be stretches the Irish can’t hit shots. But, Notre Dame has found a way to beat the zone enough times the past two meetings. The trio of freshmen will be a key in this one taking care of the ball and taking advantage of three-point opportunities. And the Orange haven't exactly fared well against the tougher opponents on their schedule so far.
The Irish pull it out in a close one.
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