Game Thread | Syracuse at Notre Dame
Syracuse (11-7, 4-3) at Notre Dame (11-6, 2-4)
Date: January 22nd
Time: 7:00p.m. ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion | Notre Dame, Ind.
TV: ESPN2 | Mike Couzens and Jon Crispin
Quick Facts
- Notre Dame and Syracuse will meet for the 52nd time on Wednesday.
- The Orange lead the series 29-22 and a 4-3 edge in ACC play.
- John Mooney leads the nation in rebounds per game at 13.9.
- Mooney has recorded double-doubles in 14 of 16 games played this season – and in 11 consecutive games.
- Notre Dame is second in the country in least amount of turnovers committed per game (9.8).
- 26 points separate T.J. Gibbs from becoming Notre Dame’s all-time leading scorer in ACC competition. Gibbs has 714 points against ACC opponents (regular season), behind Steve Vasturia’s 739.
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Prentiss Hubb | 12.9 | 2.2 | 5.0 |
| TJ Gibbs | 13.4 | 2.6 | 3.6 |
| Rex Pflueger | 4.6 | 3.3 | 3.6 |
| John Mooney | 15.4 | 13.9 | 1.9 |
| Juwan Durham | 7.9 | 6.1 | 0.9 |
Syracuse
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Joe Girard III | 12.0 | 2.3 | 3.6 |
| Buddy Boeheim | 16.2 | 2.1 | 2.5 |
| Elijah Hughes | 19.3 | 5.1 | 4.3 |
| Bourama Sidibe | 5.2 | 7.4 | 3.1 |
| Marek Dolezaj | 9.8 | 7.4 | 3.1 |
Preview
Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 75.1
Syracuse: 73.1
Opponent Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 66.1
Syracuse: 65.4
FG%
Notre Dame: 42.4%
Syracuse: 44.4%
Rebounds Per Game
Notre Dame: 39.8
Syracuse: 36.0
Assists Per Game
Notre Dame: 17.6
Syracuse: 16.0
Blocks Per Game
Notre Dame: 4.4
Syracuse: 4.2
Steals Per Game
Notre Dame: 6.2
Syracuse: 7.3
Notre Dame escaped the Carrier Dome with earlier this month win a close 88-87 win. Notre Dame made 15 three-pointers in the game to punish the Syracuse zone and the Irish will need more of that on Wednesday night.
The Orange will have some revenge on their minds as they felt Joe Girard’s three at the buzzer was a foul and he should have been given a shot to tie with no time remaining.
That said, Notre Dame has to do a better job defending the perimeter as the Orange also hit 15 threes in the first meeting. In addition to the three-point shot, the Irish will need to focus on slowing down Elijah Hughes.
Hughes scored 19 points and gave the Orange a fighting chance in the first half when he took over the game.
This game is an important one for the Irish as 3-4 in the league gives them a fighting chance for postseason play, while the 2-5 provides a bleak outlook with a road trip to No. 5 Florida State coming on Saturday.
If Notre Dame can hit the three and limit the Orange from the beyond the arc, the Irish should be in good shape tomorrow. If not, it could be a long and frustrating night against Jim Boeheim’s 2-3 zone.
Prediction: Notre Dame 71 Syracuse 67