Somewhere in a 3-8 start to the season, Mike Brey understood his defensive directives weren’t finding their way into Notre Dame’s games often enough. Not even close.
The Irish were frequently a sieve. In a nine-game stretch from Dec. 8 to Jan. 13, they allowed an opponent to average at least 1.1 points per possession seven times.
Brey could bark at them on the sidelines or emphasize in film sessions in the importance of getting down in a stance, engaging on defense and guarding with some semblance of pride all he wanted. It wouldn’t make much of a dent. He looked inward and identified himself as the primary guilty party.
“We can talk about that, but we didn’t really do that as much,” Brey said Thursday. “We had some spurts where we played defense. I hold myself accountable the most. As you’re trying to figure out your team, I don’t know if I held everyone’s feet to the fire enough.”
In doing some searching, he hatched an idea to switch the measuring stick of good defense. Out with the metric “kills” – three straight defensive stops – Notre Dame had used for several seasons. In came “stop-scores.” It’s exactly what it sounds like, a stop followed by a basket or a foul drawn. And it seems to have helped make a difference.
“We’ve seen better stances, better communication among the five on the court playing as one,” Brey said.
Since a two-game death march through the state of Virginia, Notre Dame has held five straight opponents to 1.0 or fewer points per possession. The last two failed to top 0.91, while the Irish offense cruised above 1.2. It produced the first back-to-back 20-point ACC wins since they joined the league in 2013 and a 4-1 stretch in the last five games.
Brey thinks the offensive steadiness is related to the more impassioned defense. Because of what the stop-score emphasizes. To notch one, Notre Dame has to lock down and put the ball in the hoop. The latter is easier when the former precedes it.
“[It’s] the reward of getting a stop, a defensive rebound, or a steal or deflection, and being able to come down the court a little quicker,” Brey said. “It’s not a fast-break, but early offense where the defense isn’t set. The carrot is they’re seeing what they get offensively. It’s a fun way to play.
“Guy run because they know if they run, they’ll get the ball.”
In a Jan. 30 drubbing of Pitt, Notre Dame had a season-high 24 stop-scores. The Irish followed that up with 17 in a 79-58 takedown of Wake Forest on Tuesday. Defense looks less like a chore and more like fun.
Remember when Division I newbie Bellarmine strolled into Purcell Pavilion Dec. 23 and averaged 1.11 points per possession? It feels like prehistoric times. Yes, Notre Dame’s recent opponents aren’t the ACC’s most potent offenses, but in the context the Irish oft-wayward defense in recent seasons, masterclass outings are to be cherished in any form.
A two-game road trip, though, will put it to the test. Notre Dame plays a pair of teams that sit above it in the ACC standings, starting Saturday against Georgia Tech (8 p.m. ET, ACCN). The road trip is a chance to keep climbing up the ACC standings, which resemble a traffic jam of used Mazdas more than they do a gauntlet. The league has only two teams in the top 35 of the NET rankings, and all but two have at least three conference losses.
“The league is punching the heck out of each other and you’re looking to jump up a spot or beat someone with a higher NET,” Brey said.
Notre Dame’s own NET ranking has climbed up to 72 from 125 just three weeks ago. A win at Georgia Tech would give the Irish their highest-ranked NET win of the year. The Yellow Jackets are No. 61, 4-4 in ACC play and boast an often-dangerous offense led by a trio as skilled as any in the ACC. They’re shooting 39 percent on three-pointers in conference play and taking nearly 41 percent of their field goals from beyond the arc.
Senior guard Jose Alvarado is the leading scorer, at 17.5 points per game. He’s hitting 52 percent of his field goals, 41.7 percent of his three-pointers and 87 percent of his free throws. Backcourt mate Michael Devoe, a junior, is also a 40 percent three-point shooter, and they combine for 11 three-point attempts per game. Elsewhere, senior forward Moses Wright averages 16.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.
“They’ve become more of an offensive group,” Brey said. “Our defense, which we’ve tried to be more committed to, will be challenged.”
Thanks to the stop-score and all it brings, he heads into these tougher games with a little more trust his own group can handle them.
“That mentality,” Brey said, “has been good for the teacher.”
Notre Dame (7-9, 4-6 ACC) at Georgia Tech (8-6, 4-4)
When: Saturday, Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. ET
Where: McCamish Pavilion, Atlanta, Ga.
TV: ACC Network
Radio: Notre Dame basketball radio network
Line: Georgia Tech -4.5
KenPom prediction: Georgia Tech 73, Notre Dame 70
Series history: Notre Dame leads 12-11
Last meeting: Notre Dame won 80-72 on Feb. 1, 2020 in South Bend
Other notes
• Georgia Tech is 11th nationally in steal rate, at 12.7 percent, and has four players who averaged at least one steal per game. Alvarado is the ACC steals leader and ranks fifth nationally, at 2.4 per game. Wright is not far behind, at 2.0.
• Saturday’s game is the only scheduled meeting between the two teams after a Jan. 6 game in South Bend was postponed due to a positive COVID-19 test in Georgia Tech’s program. No makeup date has been announced.
• Forward Juwan Durham is averaging 11.3 points in ACC play while shooting 61.8 percent from the floor. He has multiple blocks in five of Notre Dame’s 10 league games.
• Point guard Prentiss Hubb is averaging 6.6 assists in ACC play, which leads the conference.
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