Notre Dame Basketball’s New Home Opener Now Sunday Against Detroit Mercy
Alterations to Notre Dame basketball’s original 2020-21 schedule are becoming a near-daily occurrence.
The latest is the insertion of a Sunday night home game against Detroit Mercy, the third opponent scheduled for the weekend of Dec. 4-6 since the revised non-conference slate was released in November. It's also the third date set for the home opener. Tipoff will be at 7 p.m. ET at Purcell Pavilion. Broadcast information has not been announced.
The Irish were originally going to host Tennessee Friday night, but the game was wiped out due to Tennessee’s positive COVID-19 tests. Purdue Fort Wayne was added as a Saturday matinee after Mike Brey’s call on Twitter for a replacement opponent, but the Mastodons had COVID-19 cases arise and paused all activities, canceling the game about 48 hours after it was announced.
Notre Dame (0-1) has not played since an 80-70 loss at then-No. 13 Michigan State on Nov. 28. The Irish would go eight days between games if they can play Sunday. A Dec. 2 game against Western Michigan — the original home opener — was canceled due to the Broncos’ roster limitations.
Detroit Mercy opens its season Friday at Michigan State. Sunday would be the Titans’ second straight year playing at Notre Dame and the 55th meeting between the two programs. The first was in 1912. The most recent was on Dec. 10, 2019, a 110-71 Irish win. Notre Dame leads the series 42-12 and is 20-4 against Detroit Mercy at home.
Notre Dame’s schedule following Detroit Mercy features three straight games against ranked teams: Dec. 8 vs. No. 23 Ohio State, Dec. 12 at No. 20 Kentucky and Dec. 16 vs. No. 6 Duke.
Attendance at Purcell Pavilion is limited to guests of players and coaches.
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