Game Thread | Notre Dame at Kentucky

Notre Dame (1-2) at Kentucky (1-3)

Date: December 12

Time: 12:00 p.m. ET

Where: Rupp Arena | Lexington, Ky. 

TV:  CBS | Tom McCarthy and Bill Raftery 

Line: Kentucky -6.5 

Quick Facts 

- Mike Brey is 1-2 against John Calipari and 2-6 against Kentucky. 

- Kentucky leads the all-time series 43-19. 

- Junior guard Prentiss Hubb is eighth in the country (as of Dec. 9) in 3FGM per game at 4.33 and leads all ACC players in that category.

- Notre Dame is 44-65 all-time against the SEC. 

THE STARTERS

Notre Dame

Kentucky 

Preview

Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 77.7
Kentucky: 67.3

Opponent Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 80.0
Kentucky: 66.3

FG%
Notre Dame: 44.0%
Kentucky: 43.0%

Rebounds Per Game
Notre Dame: 37.7
Kentucky: 40.5

Assists Per Game
Notre Dame: 15.7
Kentucky: 11.8

Blocks Per Game
Notre Dame: 3.7
Kentucky: 5.5

Steals Per Game
Notre Dame: 4.3
Kentucky: 5.8

There is good news and bad news for Notre Dame as the Irish are in Lexington for a noon tip. 

Good news: Kentucky is 1-3 and has struggled to find chemistry. It’s not the Kentucky team the Irish last saw in 2015.

Bad news: Kentucky is loaded with first-round NBA talent and is extremely long and athletic. It’s also not the same Notre Dame team Kentucky saw in 2015. 

"Kentucky is younger and growing,” stated Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey. “I look at the NBA Draft projections and two of those starters are in the top 10 and I believe (Olivier) Sarr will be a first road pick. It's not like they're hurting for talent. 

"The way we built the program, we've had four and five-year guys. We've gotten older together and this group is kind of starting to hit the strides, especially the junior class. They're starting to grow up and look more like young men than boys when we played them as freshmen and sophomores." 

Notre Dame will also have the advantage of Rupp Arena not being full of 23,500 screaming BBN fans as the Irish and Cats will play game one of a three-game series. 

"The atmosphere there is classic,” said Brey. “Certainly, it won't be that, but I love that we're going to do the series. We're going to try to get to the Garden, but there's nothing definite on that next year and then they'd end up in South Bend in year three." 

The Fighting Irish will hold a significant advantage when it comes to experience. Brey has an older team and he’s going it will be pay off against a young team finding itself. 

"The way we built the program, we've had four and five-year guys,” explained Brey. “We've gotten older together and this group is kind of starting to hit the strides, especially the junior class. They're starting to grow up and look more like young men than boys when we played them as freshmen and sophomores." 

On key for Notre Dame will be finding spots on the offensive end for Cormac Ryan. The junior guard scoring 15 points in the first half against Ohio State, but only took one shot in the second half. Brey admitted he’s learning how to coach Ryan, but he also knows he can do more to help the Stanford transfer. 

“Cormac had 15 in the first half,” said Brey. “The second half, he wasn't involved as much, but he made a great point. He said, 'Coach, I'm not going to force anything. We were kind of in a good rhythm.' 

"There's a fine line where we can run something for him, or we can play basketball and take the best decision. There was a maturity about him and I think for me, it's on me a little bit. On an out of bounds under, you can maybe run something to jump-start him. We've done that with Dane a bunch. We actually did it with Nate a little bit the other night. I think I've got to do it with Cormac too.” 

Ryan sat out last year and Brey mentioned his guard is learning how to play big minutes through the first three games of the year. 

"Overall, Cormac's body getting conditioned into extended minutes,” Brey explained. “Prentiss, Dane and Nate can play extended minutes physically. They have been kind of trained that way. It's very new territory for Cormac. His body and how we steal a rest for him and how we practice him in between games so we can get his body fresh - and I want to also say it's the same for Juwan because he's been at that 30-minute mark. That's a lot. I'm trying to keep an eye on those two guys physically. Those other three, I think they've shown they can almost play the whole game. Some guys are wired differently.” 

On defense, Notre Dame will need to contain Brandon (BJ) Boston Jr. as he is a pure scorer and a future lottery pick. As a prep star, Boston was on a team with the sons of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James along with other five-star players and was the best player by far. 

However, it will be a familiar face that will be a key for Notre Dame to stop on the offensive end. 

Olivier Sarr killed Notre Dame last winter going for 30 points and 17 rebounds at Wake Forest and Brey is looking to avoid a repeat on Saturday. 

"We did a good job against him at home last year, but my God did we make him a first-round draft pick in Winston-Salem. I had a couple clips on the scout team today of him wheelin’ and dealin’ on us. You can't really guard him with one guy.  Durham or Laszewski just can't guard him one-on-one. We've got to get some help off the perimeter and jam it up a little bit and make him kick it out and shoot some jump shots. 

"I'm very impressed with him. He's a beautiful basketball player. He's a bit of a ballet dancer at 7-feet. Hands, footwork and balance. There's just not a lot of big bodies that move that smoothly. I have the utmost respect for him." 

Kentucky might be struggling, but they have the make-up of a team that has given Notre Dame fits over the past three seasons. Athletic and long wings have made life difficult for the Irish and it will take more than a big game from Prentiss Hubb to get out of Lexington with a win. 

Prediction: Kentucky 78 Notre Dame 66