Game Thread | Miami at Notre Dame
Miami (14-12, 6-10) at Notre Dame (16-10, 7-8)
Date: February 23rd
Time: 6:00 p.m. ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion | Notre Dame, Ind.
TV: ACC Network | Wes Durham and Malcolm Huckaby
Quick Facts
- Notre Dame and Miami will meet for the 24th time on Sunday.
- Miami leads the all-time series 12-11 and the last four of five.
- John Mooney is second in the nation and leads all major conference players in rebounds-per-game with a 12.7 average.
- Since 1997-98 John Mooney is the only ACC player with 12 or more double-doubles in league play in consecutive seasons (or over any two seasons).
- Sophomore guard Prentiss Hubb and Miami junior guard Chris Lykes were high school teammates at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C.
- Notre Dame leads the country in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.72.
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Prentiss Hubb | 11.9 | 2.3 | 4.7 |
| TJ Gibbs | 13.2 | 2.3 | 3.3 |
| Rex Pflueger | 5.2 | 3.3 | 3.6 |
| John Mooney | 16.2 | 12.7 | 1.8 |
| Juwan Durham | 8.3 | 5.0 | 0.9 |
Miami
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Chris Lykes | 15.5 | 1.9 | 2.5 |
| Isaiah Wong | 7.5 | 2.5 | 1.0 |
| Dejan Vasiljevic | 13.5 | 4.2 | 1.1 |
| Keith Stone | 4.5 | 4.5 | 0.6 |
| Rodney Miller Jr. | 7.7 | 5.8 | 0.4 |
Preview
Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 74.6
Miami: 73.2
Opponent Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 69.0
Miami: 74.6
FG%
Notre Dame: 42.4%
Miami 43.9%
Rebounds Per Game
Notre Dame: 37.6
Miami: 34.3
Assists Per Game
Notre Dame: 16.8
Miami: 10.3
Blocks Per Game
Notre Dame: 3.8
Miami: 3.7
Steals Per Game
Notre Dame: 5.7
Miami: 5.7
There is NCAA Tournament talk going around Notre Dame and if you buy into it, then Sunday is a must-win. And while it certainly looks unlikely the Irish will make the Big Dance, Mike Brey was hopeful his team had a chance heading into Sunday’s game against Miami.
“You tell them we're still in striking distance by getting Monday,” said Brey. “We have a lot of work to do. There's no question to be realistic; we're going to have to do something in Greensboro too. What that is, who knows. To get another one at home would be great for us.
"We're going to play a Miami team that's whole again. They have a great perimeter - they're really good."
It starts and ends with Miami point guard Chris Lykes. The 5-foot-7 point guard was heavily recruited by Brey and he’s shown why this year averaging 15.5 points per night.
Sunday will be a battle of the guards and as Brey noted, Miami and Notre Dame couldn’t be more different in how they use their guards on the offensive end of the floor.
“They can all go get their own shot,” explained Brey. “If you look at their assist to turnover, they're completely different than us. They attack it differently, but it's effective. They make one or two passes and someone is playing one-on-one and making a play. They have three guys on the perimeter that can really do that. They have big guys who know who they are and stay out of the way and rebound the ball.
"We pass it a little more. It's two interesting and very different offensive philosophies."
The Irish will also need to stay on the glass on Sunday. Notre Dame hasn’t rebounded as well over the last two weeks and the Canes shoot just 33.1 percent from three so limiting second-chance buckets could prove significant.
On offense, Notre Dame needs to continue to play loose and hit the three-ball. We’ve seen the Irish struggle a little bit lately when it comes to consistently getting good shots. The Irish haven’t scored 80 points in four games and they likely will need to do that against Miami.
For Notre Dame to win, it’s going to be the same story. The Irish will need to hit 10-plus shots from deep and win the battle on the boards by five. I think they can get by losing the turnover battle tonight as long as they limit Miami’s second-chance opportunities.
Prediction: Notre Dame 81 Miami 74