Game Thread | Notre Dame at No. 13 Michigan State
Notre Dame (0-0) at No. 13 Michigan State (1-0)
Date: November 28
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Where: Breslin Center | East Lansing, Mich.
TV: BIg 10 Network | Lisa Byington and Stephen Bardo
Line: Michigan State -10.5
Quick Facts
- Mike Brey is 1-1 against Tom Izzo.
- Brey is 33-27 against the Big 10.
- Only three active power conference players have amassed more than Prentiss Hubb’s 293 career assists - Pittsburgh’s Xavier Johnson (312) and Florida’s Tyree Appleby (297).
- Notre Dame is 19-1 in season openers in the Mike Brey era, which enters its 21st season in 2020-21. The one set back came last season on the road at No. 9/11 North Carolina 76-65.
- With 437 wins at Notre Dame, Mike Brey is 10th in the country for the most coaching wins of all active coaches at their current school. He is 22nd of all active coaches in career wins with 536.
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Prentiss Hubb | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Cormac Ryan | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Dane Goodwin | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Nate Laszewski | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Juwan Durham | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Michigan State
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Joshua Langford | 10.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| Foster Loyer | 20.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Aaron Henry | 6.0 | 4.0 | 7.0 |
| Thomas Kithier | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| Joey Hauser | 15.0 | 9.0 | 2.0 |
Preview
Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 0.0
Michigan State: 83.0
Opponent Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 0.0
Michigan State: 67.0
FG%
Notre Dame: 0.0%
Michigan State: 54.5%
Rebounds Per Game
Notre Dame: 0.0
Michigan State: 37.0
Assists Per Game
Notre Dame: 0.0
Michigan State: 27.0
Blocks Per Game
Notre Dame: 0.0
Michigan State: 5.0
Steals Per Game
Notre Dame: 0.0
Michigan State: 2.0
In the words of Mike Brey, “here we go.”
Notre Dame will start the 2020-21 season on Saturday night at Michigan State and it will be a heck of a test for the Irish, but they should be ready for it. Brey finally has an older team and after two years of ups and downs, Notre Dame should take the next step this season.
Michigan State is a tall task for a season-opener and Brey will find out quickly where his team stacks up. Cormac Ryan has been the talk of the offseason dating back to the shut down in the spring and it will be the first time Notre Dame fans get a look at him since he transferred from Stanford.
“Cormac Ryan, I’ve never had a player while sitting out in residence last year on the transfer rule be more engaged, have a voice and have an impact that way,” stated Brey. “He’s so pure that way. His teammates voted him captain, which is kind of almost unheard of.”
Opposite Hubb will be Prentiss Hubb, who might be one of the best point guards in the ACC. It’s Hubb’s team and his leadership will be tested from the get-go.
“I think it’s clearly his team and his voice to quarterback,” said Brey. “Coming in this year confident rotating up to do that. That’s an area that has really stuck out for us. As you saw, we named the rest of our captains. I’ve been really pleased with our two fifth-year seniors and how they’ve helped set the tone.”
While Michigan State has only played one game, the Spartans are the Spartans. For Notre Dame to win, the Irish must battle on the boards. Second-chance opportunities get teams beat when playing a Tom Izzo squad, so there is pressure on Juwan Durham and Nate Laszewski to win the glass as the Irish don’t have John Mooney this season.
"When you're playing man-to-man defense, they screen the heck out of you,” explained Brey. ‘They really work to get their shooters stuff and then they've always been a great rebounding team. My mind goes to can we keep it to one-and-done?
"Can we stop transition? Can we keep it to one-and-done and they don't play volleyball on the backboard? I think those are keys for us defensively.”
Offensively, Notre Dame could also push the tempo a little more this season with the roster filled with guards.
"We're going to have to get into our flow offensively,” said Brey. “We're really good when we run. We're trying to play faster. We played quicker really starting last year and that's helped up Hubb and Ryan get down the floor. Can we get some rebounds and get out and get some buckets and not have to play against their halfcourt defense?"
All in all, this is a tough task for game one and especially given the circumstances of 2020. It’s a veteran squad, so a blowout would be disappointing, but also not the end of the world as the Irish will have plenty of chances to get on track moving forward.
Prediction: Michigan State 81 Notre Dame 71