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Notre Dame Basketball

Hoops Preview: Northwestern (3-1) vs Notre Dame (4-0)

November 22, 2016
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Northwestern (3-1) vs Notre Dame (4-0)


Date: November 22

Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Time: 6:00 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN2

Quick Facts
- The two Midwest schools will meet in the championship game in the Legend’s Classic.
- Notre Dame has now won three straight games at the Barclays Center.
- The Irish are 49-35 in in-season tournament games.
- The Notre Dame offense is hot, as they have passed the 80-point in all four games of the 2016-17 season.
- Notre Dame has yet to have a double-digit turnover game.

The Starters (Per Game Averages)

Notre Dame
Matt Farrell: 11.3ppg, 1.5 rebs and 4.8 assists
Steve Vasturia: 13.8 ppg, 1.5 rebs and 3.3 assists
VJ Beachem: 19.0 ppg, 5.0 rebs and 1.3 assists
Bonzie Colson: 20.0 ppg, 9.0 rebs and 1.0 assists
Martinas Geben: 4.0 ppg, 7.3 rebs and 0.5 assists

Northwestern
Bryant McIntosh: 15.3 ppg, 1.0 rebs and 5.25 assists
Scottie Lindsey: 13.8 ppg, 5.5 rebs and 3 assists
Sanjay Lumpkin: 7.3 ppg, 5.3 rebs and 2 assists
Vic Law: 17.5 ppg, 4.8 rebs and 1 assist
Dererk Pardon: 8.5 ppg, 6.8 rebs and 0.5 assists
 

Northwestern got the Legend’s Classic Championship Game by knocking off No. 22 Texas 77-58 on Monday evening. The Wildcats were led by McIntosh’s 20 points and five assists and 10 points and 11 boards from Pardon.

However, the story of the game for Northwestern was the defense. They held the Longhorns to just 37.3 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from behind the arc. If you follow college basketball, that’s exactly what Texas head coach Shaka Smart preaches and has built his coaching philosophy on.

Much like Notre Dame, the Wildcats have relied heavily on the three-pointer early this year and are averaging over 20 three-point shots taken per night. Northwestern is actually hitting at a better clip (42 percent) than the Irish (37 percent), so defending the three-ball is going to be crucial for Mike Brey’s squad on Tuesday evening.

It will be interesting to see if Notre Dame actually tries to the push the tempo a little more, as they can go deeper into the bench on a back-to-back and when you factor in that Northwestern was playing late into Monday evening, it might make sense to do so.

Notre Dame has a chance to get itself in the Top 25 rankings with a win and I would expect them to just that. While Northwestern isn’t a premier program in college basketball, the win could very help the Irish in March if the Wildcats continue to improve this season. It’s a big night in Brooklyn for the Irish and expect the bench to help them out in this one.

 
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