Game Thread | Presbyterian at Notre Dame
Presbyterian (1-2) at Notre Dame (3-1, 0-1)
Date: November 18th
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion | Notre Dame, Ind.
Quick Facts
- The Irish and Blue Hose will be meeting for the first time on Monday evening.
- Presbyterian head coach Quinton Ferrell is in his first season – and first full season as a Division I head coach –after serving as an assistant at Presbyterian from 2007-12.
- Forward John Mooney is sixth in the country and leads the ACC in rebounding as of November 17.
- Rex Pflueger and T.J. Gibbs have joined an exclusive Notre Dame men’s basketball club. They are the 12th and 13th players since 1996-97 to post 200 assists and 100 steals in a career. Pflueger has 248 assists and 107 steals, while Gibbs has posted 293 assists and 107 steals.
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Prentiss Hubb | 12.0 | 2.0 | 4.5 |
| TJ Gibbs | 13.0 | 3.5 | 3.8 |
| Rex Pflueger | 5.0 | 3.5 | 2.0 |
| John Mooney | 16.5 | 12.5 | 2.3 |
| Juwan Durham | 7.3 | 4.5 | 1.3 |
Presbyterian
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Chris Martin | 8.3 | 4.0 | 3.7 |
| JC Younger | 8.3 | 1.7 | 0.0 |
| Michael Isler | 4.0 | 5.0 | 0.7 |
| Cory Hightower | 11.7 | 5.0 | 2.3 |
| Ben Drake | 11.3 | 7.7 | 0.3 |
Preview
Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 77.5
Presbyterian: 60.0
Opponent Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 61.8
Presbyterian: 77.7
FG%
Notre Dame: 42.50%
Presbyterian: 40.6%
Rebounds Per Game
Notre Dame: 42.8
Presbyterian: 34.3
Assists Per Game
Notre Dame: 17.0
Presbyterian: 10.3
Blocks Per Game
Notre Dame: 2.8
Presbyterian: 2.7
Steals Per Game
Notre Dame: 8.3
Presbyterian: 6.7
Notre Dame’s win over Marshall on Friday was far from pretty, but it was a game the Irish might not have won a year ago. Mike Brey’s bench managed just 14 points and 11 came from sophomore Dane Goodwin, including some late buckets to seal the win.
For Notre Dame to avoid close games against inferior opponents, the bench needs to produce more and Monday night is a chance to get back on track.
“We didn't get as much off our bench other than Dane (Goodwin),” stated Brey. “(Robby) Carmody got dinged and we have to get him healthy for Monday.
"Then we downshifted because they were hard to deal with. We need more energy off the bench. I've got to be confident to use them. We had to get the ball in against pressure. We had to make free throws. All the kind of stuff you have to do to win close games."
The Irish had to do some dirty work on the defensive end in the final minutes against Marshall and graduate student Rex Pflueger was able to make his first true impact of the season. Pflueger came up with a steal to put the game out of reach, but he also demonstrated leadership and was a calming voice late in the game, which is exactly why Brey wanted him back.
"I'm looking as its coming and having a little bit of the flashbacks - will we be mentally tough enough to get over the hump,” Brey said of the final minutes against Marshall. “We had some really key stops and got some loose balls.
"Ol' (Rex) Pflueger in there defensively - it's a whole different ball game with him back in there defensively at the end of the game with loose balls and stuff like that."
Friday might be an outlier when we look back at the game in two months, but shooting 32 percent from the field and 28% from three-point range felt a lot like 2018-19.
John Mooney had a huge night with 28 points and 16 rebounds, but even the Notre Dame captain was just 9-for-23 from the field.
The comforting thing for Brey is his defense is much better than a year ago and is something they can potentially lean on when the ball isn’t going in the hole.
"I just think we're going to have to rely on that,” said Brey. “There are just going to be nights where you have a hard time scoring. This group likes to guard and they know they can guard, especially the Pflueger, Gibbs, Hubb, Mooney and whoever the fifth is. Those four guys are really good defending together.”
As for Monday night, Notre Dame getting back on track offensively will be the point of emphasis and what we’ll be watching. Presbyterian is ranked 312th on KenPom and coming off a 22-point loss at home to Morehead State.
Notre Dame was able to get off to a hot start on Friday and took a 22-8 lead before going cold. Hot starts didn’t happen a year ago and another hot start would be a positive sign.
Prediction: Notre Dame 81 Presbyterian 59