Game Thread | Boston College at Notre Dame
Boston College (3-9, 1-5) at Notre Dame (3-8, 0-5)
Date: January 16th
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion | Notre Dame, Ind.
TV: ACC Network | Mike Monaco and Dan Bonner
Line: Notre Dame -4.5
Quick Facts
- Mike Brey is 12-1 against Jim Christian and 17-2 against Boston College.
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 23-11 and 14-5 at home.
- Nate Laszewski’s field goal percentage in 2020-21, which leads the ACC, is fifth among major conference players and 12th in the NCAA (min 5 FGM/G, 5 GP).
- Nate Laszewski’s ACC-only scoring average this season, which ranks third in the league (Matthew Hurt, Duke, 20.3; Michael Devoe, Georgia Tech, 19.3) entering this weekend’s conference action. In all games, Laszewski is sixth in the conference with a 16.7 ppg average.
- The Irish are fifth in the country and first in the ACC in free throw percentage at .812.
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Prentiss Hubb | 13.7 | 2.9 | 4.5 |
| Cormac Ryan | 9.4 | 4.4 | 3.1 |
| Dane Goodwin | 12.5 | 4.8 | 1.6 |
| Nate Laszewski | 16.7 | 7.8 | 0.5 |
| Juwan Durham | 7.9 | 4.6 | 1.5 |
Boston College
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Jay Heath | 13.5 | 3.4 | 2.4 |
| Rich Kelly | 11.1 | 1.7 | 2.3 |
| Makai Ashton-Langford Jr. | 9.2 | 3.4 | 2.7 |
| CJ Felder | 9.8 | 5.2 | 0.8 |
| James Karnik | 7.1 | 5.7 | 0.6 |
Preview
Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 70.4
Boston College: 72.9
Opponent Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 75.0
Boston College: 78.0
FG%
Notre Dame: 44.4%
Boston College: 43.5%
Rebounds Per Game
Notre Dame: 31.2
Boston College: 33.4
Assists Per Game
Notre Dame: 13.8
Boston College: 12.1
Blocks Per Game
Notre Dame: 3.3
Boston College: 4.4
Steals Per Game
Notre Dame: 3.6
Boston College: 7.3
If Notre Dame is going to win an ACC game, Saturday would be it as the Irish have handled Boston College as of late. The Eagles come to South Bend after a “big” 84-62 win over Miami earlier this week, while Notre Dame is on a four-game losing streak.
On paper, the teams are very similar, which is reflected by two poor records. The Irish aren’t facing one of the best teams in the country and this game comes down to effort.. Do they have the heart to compete? Do they want to play basketball? Can they find the intensity to finish a game?
Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey hasn’t been pleased with how his team has played defense over the last month and it’s impacting the offensive end. Boston College isn’t an offensive powerhouse, so the Irish can stop the Eagles if they apply themselves.
Defensive stops can lead to confidence and that’s what Brey is trying to find with his group.
"We're fighting,” stated Brey. “We're trying. We're not the most confident group. You can't be when you've played the teams we've played and just haven't been able to go in the locker room and celebrate. We're not real confident.
"You can't inject that in somebody.”
The Irish will need to slow down Eagles guard Jay Heath as he enters the game averaging 13.5 points a game and he can get hot as he did on Tuesday. The sophomore guard scored 25 points and hit 5-of-9 three-pointers against Miami.
It’s a big game for the Irish. If they win, there’s a good chance they can earn back-to-back wins as they’ll face Howard on Monday, but if not, Notre Dame will be playing a dangerous game in the ACC at 0-6.
Perhaps the most telling statement of where the program is at is Brey’s comments on Saturday’s game.
"I talked about the next two games in three days, Boston College and Howard,” said Brey. “Two games that are winnable, but they'll be very hard. We're not the most confident group, so they're going to be very, very hard.”
Prediction: Notre Dame 74 Boston College 68