What We Know About Notre Dame’s Non-League Schedule And What Could Be Next
Notre Dame’s goal is to reach the NCAA Tournament next season, bar none.
“It’s the next step for us after being put on the mat two years ago after getting our butts kicked losing 19 games,” head coach Mike Brey said. “I thought we came off the mat this year and showed a surge. It’s a natural progression.”
The development of the junior class and the ability to replace departed double-double machine John Mooney, among other things, will determine how likely Notre Dame is to actually do it.
So too, though, will its schedule. And that is beginning to take shape.
Notre Dame plays 20 ACC games and has six known opponents or events set for the non-conference portion.
Here are the events known so far:
• Home versus Army, date TBA (reported by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports)
• Nov. 23 versus Connecticut, Vanderbilt or USC in the Legends Classic at Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Nov. 24 versus Connecticut, Vanderbilt or USC in the Legends Classic at Brooklyn, N.Y.
• ACC/Big Ten Challenge home game in late November or early December
• Dec. 12 at Howard
• Dec. 19 versus Purdue in Indianapolis
That leaves a maximum of five games to be filled.
The opportunities exist to pick up a few quality wins. Among those six games, there is a realistic chance that four of them could be quadrant one opportunities (home games against teams Nos. 1-30 in the NET rankings, neutral-court contests versus Nos. 1-50 and away outings at Nos. 1-75). At worst, they should be quadrant two (home Nos. 31-75, neutral Nos. 51-100 and away Nos. 76-135).
That is a massive upgrade over the 2019-20 non-conference slate, which contained one quadrant one opportunity and two quadrant two games at season’s end, along with eight buy games. It was KenPom.com’s No. 348-ranked non-league schedule, and Notre Dame went 1-2 in its three most visible games.
A quick rundown of what each known non-conference game for this season could do for Notre Dame’s résumé:
Army: This is a guarantee game. The Black Knights play in the Patriot League and haven’t finished inside the KenPom.com top 200 since 2013.
Legends Classic at Brooklyn, N.Y.: Notre Dame will play two of Connecticut, Vanderbilt or USC, with matchups to be announced.
UConn finished the 2019-20 season at No. 60 in the NET rankings and should get a boost with its move into the Big East. The Huskies return promising freshmen James Bouknight and Akok Akok, enroll two four-star recruits and add former Howard guard R.J. Cole, who averaged 22.5 points in two seasons.
USC was tracking toward a tournament bid and enrolls Evan Mobley, the No. 3 overall player in the 2020 class. The Trojans were No. 45 in the NET and lose projected lottery pick Onyeka Okongwu, plus senior starters Jonah Matthews and Nick Rakocevic.
Vanderbilt, if Notre Dame plays it, is the least likely to be a quadrant one win. The Commodores were No. 142 in the NET and went 11-21 in 2019-20. They lose projected first-round pick Aaron Nesmith, but are slated to return everyone else. Former Notre Dame wing DJ Harvey will also be eligible.
ACC/Big Ten Challenge: The opponent will be announced this summer and would need to be a top-30 team for a quadrant one home game. Eleven Big Ten teams finished in the top 30 of the NET this past season.
Howard: Brey scheduled this as a courtesy to former player and assistant Kenny Blakeney, now the Bison’s head coach. Former Notre Dame guard Eric Atkins is also a Howard assistant. The game won’t do much for Notre Dame’s schedule — Howard finished as the No. 349 team in the NET and 4-29 overall.
Purdue: The Boilermakers have finished outside the KenPom.com top 50 just twice since 2006. They are a relatively safe bet to be a quadrant one opponent on a neutral floor. They were No. 32 in the final NET despite a 16-15 record and have lost three role players.
With the need to be budget-conscious amid the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic, Brey admitted there is a chance Notre Dame could start a home-and-home series or two in lieu of a buy game. Those wouldn’t cost anything, whereas a buy game usually costs $90,000.
“It’s a philosophy we’re examining,” Brey said. “I can’t say we’re locked into that we’re going to cut our guarantee games and do more home-and-homes. There’s so much unknown and we need about three or four more games.
“…You have to have an open mind for everything for your budget and do everything you can to help your athletic department.”
Notre Dame’s ACC pairings for the 2020-21 season have been announced, with dates to follow later:
Home-and-home: Boston College, Georgia Tech, Duke, Miami, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
Home only: Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina State and Wake Forest.
Road only: Louisville, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Syracuse.
Even if the rest of Notre Dame’s non-conference schedule is filled out with five guarantee games, the conference slate contains an inherent strength boost with Virginia and Duke on it twice. Virginia Tech, another double-play opponent, is likely to be a popular pick to surprise in the ACC with five freshmen who return as sophomores and three transfer additions.
“Don’t worry about power in our schedule,” Brey said. “We had power in the schedule, we just couldn’t beat enough of the top teams to get our NET from the 50s up into the 30s.”
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