Game Thread | No. 21 Duke at Notre Dame

No. 21 Duke (2-2) at Notre Dame (2-2)

Date: December 16

Time: 9:00 p.m. ET

Where: Purcell Pavilion | Notre Dame, Ind. 

TV:  ESPN | Bob Wischusen and Dick Vitale 

Line: Duke -3.5 

Quick Facts 

- Mike Brey is 5-9 vs. Mike Krzyzewski and 5-8 against Duke. 

- Duke leads the all-time series 26-7

- Junior guard Prentiss Hubb is 14th in the country (as of Dec. 14) in 3FGM per game at 3.75 and in second in the ACC.

- At 41.6%, Notre Dame is 20th in the country in 3FG% (as of Dec. 14) and second in the ACC (NC State has a 44.9% average).

- Junior forward Nate Laszewski has pulled down at least nine rebounds in each of Notre Dame’s first four games this season. After averaging 7.4 ppg and 4.6 rpg last season, Laszewski has increased those averages to 16.5 ppg and 9.5 rpg in 2020-21. That 9.5 rpg average is third in the ACC (as of Dec. 14).

THE STARTERS

Notre Dame

Duke

Preview

Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 74.3
Duke: 73.5

Opponent Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 75.8
Duke: 70.8

FG%
Notre Dame: 44.1%
Duke: 44.2%

Rebounds Per Game
Notre Dame: 36.8
Duke: 40.3

Assists Per Game
Notre Dame: 14.0
Duke: 15.8

Blocks Per Game
Notre Dame: 3.8
Duke:  5.5

Steals Per Game
Notre Dame: 4.3
Duke:  8.8

Wednesday night seems to be another good news/bad news game for Notre Dame.

The good news: Notre Dame is coming off a win at Kentucky where they played a flawless first half and a terrible second half. The Irish got the win and that’s all that matters, so there is positive momentum heading into tonight.

The bad news: Duke will be the opponent tonight in Purcell Pavilion and the Irish won’t have the advantage of the home crowd. 

Duke enters the game at 2-2, which is not the norm for the Blue Devils and that includes getting smacked 83-68 by Illinois in its last game on December 8th. Mike Brey compared Duke to Kentucky when it comes to what the Irish will face, but also made it clear Coach K’s team is better offensively. 

“Duke has a lot of youth, but they also have a couple veterans who have been there,” stated Brey. “The difference in the youth is their skill level and ability to shoot and score it. 

"Kentucky was still trying to find themselves on the offensive end. They certainly found themselves defensively in the second half against us when they came out and got on us. That was like Florida State bodies coming out and mauling you - I don't mean fouling, but making the court seem small. 

"A little more skill level, ability to put numbers on the board and I think they'll come out and pressure us and pick us up full court to try to wear our perimeter guys out. They have the ability to shoot it and score it probably more than Kentucky." 

Another positive for Notre Dame is Duke will be without arguably its best player in freshman forward Jalen Johnson, who is averaging 11.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. It’s up for debate on who starts for Duke in his spot and there is speculation Coach K could make more adjustments to this starting five. 

Notre Dame could also get more good news as the NCAA is supposed to vote on approving a waiver for transfers to become eligible this season. If it is passed, junior guard Trey Wertz would be activated and the Irish could use another scorer along with another body. 

"He can make shots,” Brey said. “He can score it. He's a double-figure scorer in Division I. I don't care what league you're in, if you're scoring double-figures and getting there at a pretty efficient rate, which he did at Santa Clara. He's older and has been in some games. 

"When I look at our group and see a (Nik) Djogo and a Wertz coming off - those are two veteran guys coming off that know how to play. (Matt) Zona, we'll bring him along." 

While I think Notre Dame has a shot tonight against Duke, I’m still hesitant to pick an upset as Brey’s club hasn’t been able to find consistency over the course of an entire game. To beat Duke, a complete game is necessary and it’s still a wait and show me in my opinion for Notre Dame. 

Prediction: Duke 81 Notre Dame 75