A season amid a pandemic has tapped into Mike Brey’s adventurous side.
Non-league games after January and an out-of-conference schedule stacked with high-major teams are normally non-starters for Notre Dame’s coach, but he made exceptions as the inevitable wonkiness of this season became clear.
Some things, though, withstand any test.
Like guard usage. Brey’s going to play his best guards to the brink of exhaustion. This group — Prentiss Hubb, Dane Goodwin and Cormac Ryan — all rank in the national top 25 in percentage of minutes played, per KenPom.
“You know me,” Brey said, “Rest is overrated.”
That is expected to be the case even with a reinforcement likely added for Wednesday against No. 21 Duke (9 p.m., ESPN) in the ACC opener and beyond.
The NCAA Division I Council votes Wednesday to make eligible all basketball transfers who are currently sitting out the season. The council is expected to pass the measure, which would clear Santa Clara transfer Trey Wertz to play for Notre Dame. The two-year Broncos starter with a career 12.0 scoring average would slot in as an immediate contributor because of what he adds, not because his presence means an impending timeshare and a longer breather.
“I look at Trey as another weapon for us, more than another minute-shaver,” Brey said. “Like Prentiss and Cormac, he’s a guard with a feel for the game, he’s skilled, and as we’ve seen already at the college level, has the ability to score.”
Same time, someone has to come off the court when Wertz goes on it. Hubb, Goodwin and Ryan’s minutes might not stay at those strenuous levels, but Brey is going to ride them all season. It’s likely each remains at or over 30 minutes per game. Wednesday should offer the first look at the rotation with four guards instead of three. Brey is prepared to play Wertz and has told Wertz to be ready. His practice time with the starters has increased of late.
“It’s going to be crucial to have another guy who can mix in the rotation, be a playmaker and someone who fits the system,” Ryan said. “He will be able to lighten the load especially with guys in foul trouble. To have another guy to go to is a key piece of any team.”
The load could use a downshift from onerous to merely taxing. Notre Dame (2-2) started the season with eight healthy scholarship players and has played with seven twice already. The rotation has largely been six or seven deep, with Nikola Djogo involved when healthy and freshmen Matt Zona and Tony Sanders Jr. sprinkled in.
Nonetheless, Notre Dame, with essentially a 6.5-man rotation, knocked off Kentucky 64-63 Saturday for its first-ever win in Lexington. The 1-4 Wildcats are a disorganized, youthful bunch that Notre Dame blitzed in the first half and outlasted in the second. They still represented a more talented, brawny on-paper opponent, though. Notre Dame hadn’t beaten one of those in a while.
“I told them that after the game, and I told them that after the (Dec. 8) Ohio State game,” Brey said. “Now it moves into, ‘How do you use Saturday to be a little greedy?’ We certainly have not arrived.”
“We got our win,” Hubb said. “But we’re not holding our heads too high because we still have a lot to prove for ourselves.”
It’s good timing, then, to have another test against a name-brand program up next. Duke (2-2) has lost to top-15 opponents Illinois and Michigan State. If Kentucky is spiraling, the Blue Devils are just treading water. Like Kentucky, they’re still among the more gifted teams in the country even if they don’t presently resemble a national title contender.
“The difference in the youth is they’re a little more skilled in their ability to shoot it and score it,” Brey said. “Kentucky was still trying to find themselves on the offensive end. A little more skill level, ability to put numbers on the board. They will really come out and pressure us, pick us up full-court.”
Duke will also be shorthanded. Freshman forward Jalen Johnson, a 6-9, 220-pound unicorn with pogo-stick athleticism and an all-encompassing skill set, is out indefinitely due to a foot injury. He was averaging 11.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 1.8 assists and shooting 33 percent on three-pointers through four games.
In recent games, sophomore forward Matthew Hurt has taken on the scoring load. He has topped 19 points in each of the last three games. He’s shooting 41 percent on threes. His defense, often a liability as a freshman, has taken steps. Duke turns to a pair of freshmen guards for backcourt production, D.J. Steward and Jeremy Roach. The former is regarded as a three-point threat, while the latter is a playmaker and facilitator.
All told, Notre Dame has a chance to propel itself further and continue the good vibes. Beating Kentucky allowed the Irish to stand on the springboard. A win Wednesday would pull it back and launch it. Duke is not at its Zion Williamson levels, but it’s still Duke. Still coached by the same man. Still armed with five-stars. Still safely headed for double-digit ACC wins.
Still a chance for Notre Dame to prove it has traveled quite a distance since finishing in last place two season ago and since a 94-60 loss last February at Cameron Indoor.
“Everybody who played in that gym last year,” Hubb said, “are new people.”
Notre Dame (2-2) vs. No. 21 Duke (2-2)
When: Wednesday, Dec. 16, 9 p.m. ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion
TV: ESPN
Radio: Notre Dame Basketball Radio Network/WBST 960 AM
KenPom Prediction: Duke 76, Notre Dame 71
Series Record: Duke leads 26-7
Series Facts: Notre Dame has lost six straight to the Blue Devils, most recently a 94-60 road defeat on Feb. 15, 2020. The Irish’s most recent head-to-head win was in the 2016 ACC tournament, an 84-79 overtime victory over No. 19 Duke.
The teams have played 12 times since Notre Dame joined the ACC before the 2013-14 season, three of them in the conference tournament. Duke is 6-4 at Purcell Pavilion. The Irish are 5-7 against Duke since moving to the ACC.
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