For all their disparities in collective roster age, number of NBA draft prospects and preseason expectations, Notre Dame and Kentucky find themselves in similar spots after two weeks of games.
The Wildcats, a preseason top-15 team with yet another top-three recruiting class, are 1-3 with losses to Georgia Tech and Richmond. Their status as a door off its hinges has commanded national attention. Notre Dame is all too aware of it heading into its Saturday visit to Kentucky (12 p.m. ET, CBS). Irish head coach Mike Brey, though, had a reminder for any of his players swept up into that narrative.
“I understand backs against the wall at 1-3,” Brey said. “But I said, ‘Hey fellas, we’re 1-2. Aren’t our backs against the wall a little bit, too?’ And if you look further into our schedule, it’s not like we have one where we can say it’s a win and make us feel better about ourselves. I feel we’re a little cornered too.”
What looked like another ambitious game on Notre Dame’s meat-grinder of a non-conference schedule a few weeks ago has turned into a meeting of two teams at an impasse, each craving a win and riding desperate energy. Kentucky is not just young. The Wildcats are a collection of newcomers from all over. Both are revealing themselves to be issues. No one who has scored a point this year was on last year’s team.
Four of Kentucky’s top six scorers are freshmen. The other two are transfers. It’s a melting pot of players and roster turnover extreme even for coach John Calipari, who is used to his best players leaving for the NBA every year. A bizarre offseason made the timing for such an exodus less ideal.
Notre Dame, still in its attempted buildup from 3-15 in the ACC two years ago, dropped a pair of games against Big Ten opponents with an at-times claustrophobic win over Detroit sandwiched in between. The first, a season-opening loss at Michigan State, was over with 15 minutes left. The Irish were purely outclassed by the current No. 4 team in the nation.
Ten days later came a 90-85 home loss to No. 22 Ohio State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Notre Dame held an 11-point lead with about 15 minutes left, but unraveled afterward. The Buckeyes averaged 1.6 points per possession and rebounded 53 percent of their missed shots in the second half. Still, Notre Dame had a chance to tie on its final possession and even held a one-point lead with 5:41 left.
In other words, a team with a starting five that largely took the court together three seasons ago and added a sit-out transfer this year expects to win that kind of game at home. Instead, it was consecutive loss No. 23 against a ranked opponent and a missed opportunity for the Irish to leap another rung. They beat almost no one in 2018-19. They handled teams at or below their level last year. Now, Brey says it’s time to punch above the weight class.
“Anybody above us, we couldn’t quite get those,” Brey said. “That’s our process now. We have another opportunity Saturday, then another [Dec. 16 against Duke]. That’s how I’ve talked to them since Wednesday. You need to get one of these that’s above you.”
A win over Kentucky won’t end the top-25 skid, but even in their messy state, the Wildcats still are a talent class above Notre Dame, at least on paper. They have been in early season ruts before only to emerge as their usual selves by March.
Kentucky boasts three five-star freshmen, namely projected lottery pick wings B.J. Boston and Terrence Clarke. Brey needs no reminding about Kentucky’s seven-foot center, Olivier Sarr, who transferred from Wake Forest. He dealt Notre Dame repeated haymakers in a Feb. 29 Irish loss, finishing with 30 points and 17 rebounds.
“You can’t really guard him with one guy,” Brey said. “[Juwan] Durham or [Nate] Laszewski just can’t guard him one-on-one. We have to get some help off the perimeter, jam it up a little bit, make him kick it out and shoot some jump shots.
“He’s a bit of a ballet dancer at seven feet. Hands and footwork and balance. There’s just not a lot of big bodies who move that smoothly.”
Notre Dame can, though, lean into its cohesiveness that laps Kentucky’s several times over. Even in defeat against Ohio State, a sense of togetherness and feel for each other was present. The Irish put 85 points and 1.31 points per possession on a team with more size and athleticism. They made 11 3s and assisted on half their baskets. Kentucky, meanwhile, has 26 more turnovers than assists.
“We do know how to play, especially on the offensive end,” Brey said. “This group knows who they are offensively. The five starters are old. They’ve played together a lot. Kentucky’s younger, but I look at the NBA Draft projections and two of their starters are in the top 10. It’s not like they’re hurting for talent.”
Notre Dame (1-2) at Kentucky (1-3)
When: Saturday, Dec. 12, 12 p.m. ET
Where: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Ky.
TV: CBS
KenPom prediction: Kentucky 76, Notre Dame 68
Series facts: Kentucky leads 43-19 heading into Saturday’s game, the 63rd all-time meeting. Only 22 of the prior meetings have come on either team’s home court, and Notre Dame has not won in eight prior visits to Rupp Arena.
Saturday is the start of a three-year series between the two teams agreed upon in May. They will play on a neutral site — the target is Madison Square Garden in New York — in 2021 and in South Bend in 2022.
It’s the first game between the two since the 2015 Elite Eight, which Kentucky won 68-66 to stay unbeaten at 38-0.
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