Observations: Notre Dame Handles Boston College For First ACC Win
Notre Dame pulled itself out of the ACC cellar and ended a four-game losing streak.
The Irish defeated Boston College 80-70 Saturday afternoon, moving to 1-5 in the ACC and 4-8 overall. For now, they’re next scheduled to play at Miami on Jan. 24 after Monday’s game at Howard was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns, but coach Mike Brey said he’s hoping to add a non-conference opponent to the schedule this week.
Here are some observations from the game.
•Boston College’s leaky defense sure is a good remedy to snap a losing streak. The Eagles (3-10, 1-6) entered the game ranked 10th in the ACC in defensive efficiency in conference play, and it was easy to see why. They primarily played zone and were slow to rotate, lost track of shooters and were caught flat-footed on dribble-drives. Notre Dame’s zone offense was largely crisp, with few forced passes or shots. Its first turnover didn’t occur until 11:04 remained in the game.
•After some wayward games to open the 2021 portion of the schedule, guards Prentiss Hubb and Cormac Ryan were patient and under control, save for a couple of heat-check 3s by Hubb in the second half. They combined for 13 assists and committed zero turnovers in the first half. Hubb ended with 13 points and was 3-for-7 on 3-pointers, ending a 1-for-21 slump. Ryan was 2-for-5 on 3s, but his overall scoring efficiency remains low.
•Hubb also had 10 assists, matching his career best in a conference game. Six of them were on 3-pointers. The others were on post feeds to forwards Juwan Durham and Nate Laszewski. All told, Notre Dame averaged 1.16 points per possession, had 21 assists and seven turnovers, with three of the giveaways in the final 80 seconds when the game was all but decided.
•Durham nearly didn’t play because of back issues, but still posted a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double. He was 6-of-9 from the field, most of it on post-ups or dives to the rim. He took advantage of a couple instances where a guard had switched onto him.
•Dribble drive containment remains a concern for Notre Dame defensively. Boston College was 17-for-31 on 2-pointers, a result of Irish guards struggling to stay in front of the Eagles’ backcourt members one-on-one. Sophomore Jay Heath was a handful for Hubb and guard Trey Wertz, as was junior Wynston Tabbs.
•Boston College also took 29 of its 60 field goal attempts from 3-point range. On the whole, Notre Dame couldn’t keep the 3-point volume down and gave the Eagles some clean looks they missed (they shot 31 percent from deep), but its defense was effective early in running Heath and fellow shooter Rich Kelly off the early on by going over all screens. Those two combined for nine 3-point attempts after making a combined 12 in their prior game.
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