How Notre Dame's three-point woes proved costly in loss to Indiana
INDIANAPOLIS – Notre Dame lined up a few haymakers and readied to hit back, needing to keep itself in a tight game with Indiana in front of an overwhelmingly pro-Hoosiers crowd in the final Crossroads Classic Saturday.
The Irish squared up, prepared to throw a punch…and landed it on nothing but fresh air. Or, more accurately, on the Gainbridge Fieldhouse rims. Clang. Doink. Smack. Not nearly enough swoosh.
Notre Dame kept itself within arm’s length in a game that would have added to the good vibes from last week’s win over then-No. 10 Kentucky if it could filch a victory. It even erased a 45-35 second-half deficit to tie the score at 46 with just over eight minutes left. It could not, though, make the big shots, throw the right pass or generate stops often enough to prevail, instead falling to Indiana 64-56 to drop to 4-5 on the season.
The shooting woes weren’t the aggravating factor, but they sure feel like the most disappointing. Furthermore, they’re a continuation of a season-long drought from deep that – aside from a 12-for-26 output against Division II Chaminade – hasn’t shown signs of abating.
“We're going to have to make some more from out there at key times,” Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said. “We didn't capitalize on any of them.”
Notre Dame was 4-for-22 from three-point range, lowering its season percentage to 30.6. This was their third game shooting below 24 percent from deep. The Irish came in ranked 243rd nationally in three-point accuracy. It’s a confounding drop, even for a team and core group prone to streakiness within its prior above-average shooting numbers.
“I do think the guys that are not shooting well are better shooters,” Brey said. “I bank on the law of averages here kicking in at some point.”
With every game where the shooting is unreliable, though, that refrain will fall on deaf ears. This outing was a stress test to already thinning patience.
Four misses in the second half stand out as back-breakers in hindsight. All were rhythm shots. Some were akin to shooting practice, where no defender was within an ocean. Two would have tied the game. One would have made it a one-possession game. The other would have offered some late life.
The first came on the opening possession of the second half, with Notre Dame trailing 30-27. Freshman guard Blake Wesley ball-faked on the wing, which drew Indiana forward Race Thompson’s attention away from forward Nate Laszewski. Wesley, in turn, passed to Laszewski on the other side of the key. He uncorked a three-pointer. It drew front rim.
Three possessions later, forward Paul Atkinson Jr. felt a double team coming in the post and kicked out to guard Cormac Ryan on the wing. Ryan made a decisive extra pass to guard Dane Goodwin in the corner. With no one in position to contest, Goodwin queued up a three. If there’s one shooter to feel confident about amid this slump, it’s him. He came into the game making 42 percent of his threes and has scored in double figures every game.
He missed long.
“I thought we put ourselves in position, and especially in that stretch, we had some open looks,” Goodwin said. “We were sharing it. Just couldn't get them to go.”
Later, with Notre Dame trailing 46-40, Wesley drove the lane, saw the defense collapse and flipped an overhand pass to Ryan in the corner. Clank.
Finally, in a 56-49 hole with 2:24 left, Notre Dame had a prime chance to answer an emphatic Trayce Jackson-Davis dunk. Wesley drove once again, saw guard Prentiss Hubb’s man help and fired a pass to Hubb on the wing. Hubb hoisted. Like most of those before it, the ball met the rim.
Notre Dame didn’t lose solely because it couldn’t make a three, but one wonders if some more consistent shooting would mitigate the impact of difficult defensive matchups and bouts with turnovers. Missing open three-pointers is also less tied to the opponent than those other two issues.
The bricklaying had a direct impact on Notre Dame posting just five assists. Yes, there were careless passes, some iffy decisions and a couple out-of-control drives, but the historically low total would be less jarring if a few more open jumpers found the hole. Wesley’s zero assists don’t indicate a guard who didn’t pass, but rather, one who had some tough luck on the good passes he made.
“He had some kick-outs to our shooters,” Brey said.
There’s already enough weight on Wesley’s shoulders. He surpassed 30 minutes played for the second straight outing. He ranks 52nd nationally in usage rate, per KenPom. He’s Notre Dame’s most explosive guard and the engine of its offense. When he sat for 4:10 late in the first half due to foul trouble, the Irish didn’t score and committed four straight turnovers.
Wesley is, though, still a freshman guard. There were reminders of it Saturday. He scored 12 points against the Hoosiers, but was just 5-of-16 from the field with three turnovers. He made only one of his five three-point attempts.
Even he’s not immune to whatever has stricken the Irish’s shooting touch.
“It's one of those things where I don't want to talk to them too much about it because they're thinking enough,” Brey said. “But, God, some of those looks we got after some movement, those are the ones you got to get to steal this one, and we haven't been able to get them enough, not only in this game, but all year.”
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