Game Thread | Notre Dame at Miami
Notre Dame (4-8, 1-5) at Miami (6-7, 2-6)
Date: January 24th
Time: 6:00 p.m. ET
Where: Watsco Center | Coral Gables, Fla.
TV: ACC Network | Anish Shroff and Paul Biancardi
Line: Miami -2.5
Quick Facts
- Mike Brey is 5-5 against Jim Larranaga and 6-5 against Miami.
- The all-time series is tied 12-12 between the two programs.
- Junior forward Nate Laszewski’s NCAA-leading effective field goal percentage in 2020-21 at .767.
- Laszewski also leads the ACC in three-point field foal percentage at 55.3%.
- Tony Sanders Jr. (Miami), Juwan Durham (Tampa) and Laszewski (Jupiter) will play in their home state on Sunday.
- The Irish are 11th in the country and 2nd in the ACC in free throw percentage at .791. Trim that national list to teams that have played at least 10 games and Notre Dame is eighth in the country.
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Prentiss Hubb | 13.7 | 3.1 | 5.0 |
| Cormac Ryan | 9.4 | 4.4 | 3.1 |
| Dane Goodwin | 13.3 | 4.7 | 1.6 |
| Nate Laszewski | 16.7 | 7.7 | 0.5 |
| Juwan Durham | 8.3 | 5.2 | 1.5 |
Miami
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Harlond Beverly | 8.1 | 5.5 | 3.5 |
| Elijah Olaniyi | 9.2 | 3.9 | 1.2 |
| Isaiah Wong | 17.5 | 5.8 | 2.1 |
| Anthony Walker | 7.2 | 3.3 | 0.5 |
| Nysier Brooks | 7.2 | 6.8 | 0.3 |
Preview
Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 71.2
Miami: 67.4
Opponent Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 74.6
Miami: 68.0
FG%
Notre Dame: 44.7%
Miami: 43.3%
Rebounds Per Game
Notre Dame: 31.7
Miami: 37.9
Assists Per Game
Notre Dame: 14.4
Miami: 12.0
Blocks Per Game
Notre Dame: 3.2
Miami: 4.3
Steals Per Game
Notre Dame: 3.8
Miami: 6.8
Sunday could be an ugly game as offense isn’t a strength of either team. Notre Dame’s offensive struggles have been well-documented and Miami is averaging less points per game than the Irish, including scoring 57 on Tuesday at Syracuse.
The good news for the Canes is guard Kameron McGusty returned against Syracuse after missing four games. It remains to be seen if he’ll make his way back in the starting lineup, but he’s averaging 10.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists on the year.
Senior guard Chris Lykes could also be back for Miami. Lykes has been a game-time decision the last few games after suffering an ankle injury. The Maryland native hasn’t played since December 4th, but Notre Dame fans are aware of his talents despite being just 5-foot-7. Lykes through two games this year and 26 games last year averaged over 15 points per game.
For Notre Dame, it was another week of not playing a game, which could be good. The Irish won last Saturday 80-70 over Boston College before Monday’s game at Howard was canceled.
Mike Brey has upped the intensity level in practice and it’s seemed to help his squad find a competitive spirit that was missing during a four-game losing streak.
"I think we needed to remind our guys that they do have an edge,” stated Brey. “Nobody gets to this level of playing college basketball without being a competitor and having an edge about them. When you get thumped a little bit by really good teams, you're back on your heels and human nature kicks in.
"We've been all over the board in other areas,” said Brey. “You try a little bit of everything. A little bit of tough love, confidence giving and a little bit of changing the lineup. Cormac Ryan coming off the bench, has that helped him? He comes in and he's been a little smoother and not as frenzied on the offensive end. He always defends for us and works on the defensive end.
"You'd like not to start guys to jumpstart them and get to a maturity level of you seven guys are playing and here's how we're going to start. Can you deliver? We've not been able to find that. You keep pushing buttons and playing around with some stuff with lineups, playing time, starting and tough love. The day before the game hugging them up to get them feeling good. It's a little bit of a mixed bag.
"I've certainly do not have the finger on the pulse of it at this point."
On Sunday, Notre Dame will need to play defense and rebound. Miami isn’t going to beat Notre Dame with the three-ball as they shoot just 26.9 percent from deep. It will be about stopping drives and then not letting a team averaging over 37 rebounds dominate on the glass.
“They're an athletic group,” Brey said. “They're going to drive at our heart and our lane and be up on our backboard. That's an area where we have not been as good as we need to be. It's a great challenge for us.”
Athletic teams seem to be Notre Dame’s kryptonite over the last few years, but without the threat of the three-point shot, the Irish could steal one in Miami.
Prediction: Miami 72 Notre Dame 68