Game Thread | Cal State Northridge at Notre Dame
Cal State Northridge (0-1) at Notre Dame (0-0)
Date: Nov. 13
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion | Notre Dame, Ind.
TV: ACC Network Extra | Chris Frick and Mike Lightfoot | WATCH
Line: Notre Dame -24.0
Quick Facts
- Notre Dame is 1-0 against Cal State Northridge.
- Notre Dame is 21-0 in home openers during the Mike Brey era. The program is 107-11 all-time in home openers.
- PF Paul Atkinson Jr. enters Saturday’s game with a 30-game streak of scoring in double-figures.
- Mike Brey and assistant Anthony Solomon have won 255 games together.
- Prentiss Hubb will start this season with 445 career assists, which is the most for any returning ACC player and the fifth highest in the NCAA.
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Prentiss Hubb | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Cormac Ryan | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Dane Goodwin | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Nate Laszewski | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Paul Atkinson Jr. | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Cal State Northridge
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Elijah Hardy | 7.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 |
| Darius Brown II | 10.0 | 6.0 | 2.0 |
| Atin Wright | 10.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Miles Brookins | 9.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 |
| Fidelis Okereke | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
Preview
College hoops is back and Notre Dame will get things underway on Saturday as the Irish host Cal State Northridge. The Matadors opened the season on Tuesday with a 40-point loss to USC.
It's a prove-it year for Mike Brey and his squad as Notre Dame is one of the oldest teams in college basketball and have some new energy with a new staff.
Overall, Notre Dame should win big and start the year off well, but there are several things to watch on Saturday.
Grad transfer Paul Atkinson Jr. will make his Irish debut after not playing in a game for over 600 days. At Yale, Atkinson shot .661 from the field and that's the best for any returning player in the country. How does he fit into Notre Dame's offense? That's the key. Atkinson scored 30 points and pulled down 19 rebounds in two exhibition games, but it will be interesting to see how Brey plays him and Laszewski.
Brey hasn't been shy about wanting to play small, but that's also got him in trouble with essentially the same lineup over the last three years (minus Atkinson).
The X-factor will be freshman guard Blake Wesley. The South Bend native has turned heads since he stepped on campus in June and is a talent Notre Dame hasn't had in quite some time.
Wesley can easily create his own shot, but he can finish at the rim and has bought into playing defense. Can he take good shots? He was a volume shooter in high school and in the exhibition games, Wesley looked under control, but he'll need to continue to learn when to pick his spots to be aggressive.
The other piece to the puzzle is Wesley has done a good job on the boards, which could lead to Brey playing small if his freshman guard can be consistent on the glass.