Game Thread | Notre Dame at Duke
Notre Dame (7-10, 4-7) at Duke (7-7, 5-5)
Date: February 9th
Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium | Durham, N.C.
TV: ACC Network | Rece Davis and Jon Crispin
Line: Duke -6.5
Quick Facts
- Mike Brey is against 5-10 against Mike Krzyzewski and 5-9 against Duke.
- Duke leads the all-time series 27-7.
- Notre Dame has failed to finish .500 or above in February just once since joining the ACC. (6-2 last year)
- Over the past seven games, Juwana Durham is shooting 65 percent from the field.
- Prentiss Hubb has dished out 51 assists over the last six games.
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Prentiss Hubb | 14.5 | 3.1 | 5.9 |
| Trey Wertz | 7.0 | 2.2 | 2.4 |
| Dane Goodwin | 12.5 | 4.9 | 1.6 |
| Nate Laszewski | 15.5 | 7.9 | 0.7 |
| Juwan Durham | 9.9 | 5.3 | 1.5 |
Duke
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Jeremy Roach | 9.3 | 2.2 | 2.8 |
| DJ Steward | 13.3 | 4.4 | 2.1 |
| Wendell Moore Jr. | 8.9 | 4.1 | 1.9 |
| Matthew Hurt | 18.0 | 7.1 | 1.3 |
| Mark Williams | 2.6 | 3.1 | 0.5 |
Preview
Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 71.8
Duke: 75.1
Opponent Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 71.4
Duke: 72.1
FG%
Notre Dame: 46.6%
Duke: 45.6%
Rebounds Per Game
Notre Dame: 32.9
Duke: 36.6
Assists Per Game
Notre Dame: 15.2
Duke: 15.1
Blocks Per Game
Notre Dame: 3.8
Duke: 4.4
Steals Per Game
Notre Dame: 4.2
Duke: 8.3
Mike Brey was not pleased with Notre Dame's defense following the 75-65 loss to Duke in December.
"I was disappointed in our defensive positioning most of the night," Brey said following the loss. "I thought we could sit down in a stance better. We never did that enough to make it interesting.
"Every time we got it to five or two possessions, I don't think we ever really had five guys playing defense together. Disappointing because I thought we could give it a better shot."
The defense has improved over the last month, but the Irish took two steps back over the weekend as they blew a 15-point halftime lead to Georgia Tech.
And Brey was back to questioning the heart of his players on the defensive end.
"I don't think our compete drill mentality was very good tonight when we had to put a chest on a guy," Brey stated on Saturday. "I kind of told them that afterward. I said that's where we got beat."
It's safe to say Notre Dame stressed defense over the last two days as the Irish practiced inside Cameron Indoor on Sunday and Monday.
Brey said he wouldn't be giving a motivational speech to his guys as Saturday's letdown should speak for itself.
"It's up to them," explained Brey. "It's a nice group of kids and I have no speeches for them. Let's see how they do circling back and seeing how we play Tuesday. There's no rah-rah BS.
"We didn't finish it. We didn't get it done. We get another chance on the road on Tuesday."
Duke is far from the program with Final Four expectations, but they still present a challenge for Notre Dame as they have athletes.
Matthew Hurts (18 points) and DJ Steward (16 points) will be a handful for the Irish. Brey knows his group isn't getting more athleticism in three days, so it will come down to physical play and winning the boards.
"They were better athletes than us," Brey said of Georgia Tech. "They out athleted us. It's happened a bunch to us this season. We're not going to all of a sudden get more athletic this season."
Notre Dame can leave Cameron Indoor with a win and I'm not sure anyone would be surprised if they did.
The athleticism difference is something Notre Dame has struggled with since 2017 and it's cost them in games like this. The Irish will need to hit the three-ball to get the win and I'm not sure that happens today.
Prediction: Duke 81 Notre Dame 74