GAME THREAD | Lipscomb at Notre Dame
Lipscomb (2-1) at Notre Dame (3-0)
Date: November 18th
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion | Notre Dame, Ind.
TV: ESPN+
Line: Notre Dame -13.5
O/U: 152.0
PROJECTED STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| JJ Starling | 12.0 | 4.0 | 0.7 |
| Trey Wertz | 17.7 | 2.7 | 3.3 |
| Cormac Ryan | 12.0 | 4.7 | 2.3 |
| Dane Goodwin | 14.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 |
| Nate Laszewski | 20.0 | 10.7 | 1.3 |
Lipscomb
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Trae Benham | 11.7 | 4.7 | 1.7 |
| Will Pruitt | 14.0 | 7.7 | 3.0 |
| Derrin Boyd | 10.7 | 2.3 | 1.3 |
| Matthew Schner | 12.3 | 7.7 | 1.7 |
| Ahsan Asadullah | 5.3 | 3.7 | 3.0 |
Preview
| Category | Lipscomb | Notre Dame |
| Points | 87.0 | 83.0 |
| Opponent Points | 71.3 | 75.7 |
| FG% | 52.4% | 53.2% |
| Rebounds | 40.3 | 33.0 |
| Assists | 15.3 | 11.3 |
| Blocks | 5.0 | 2.7 |
| Steals | 5.3 | 3.3 |
Notre Dame’s first three games have been a little tougher than expected, but it’s also well worth noting the Irish haven’t lost.
Louisville is off to an 0-3 start with losses to Bellarmine, Wright State and Appalachian State.
Florida State is also 0-3 after falling to Stetson, Central Florida and Troy.
Syracuse lost to Colgate while Boston College lost to Maine earlier this week.
The ACC might be a bit top-heavy this year and while Notre Dame hasn’t looked like a top 25 program to this point, the Irish don’t have a bad loss and have closed games they would have lost just two years ago.
Notre Dame needs to continue to focus on itself as the Nov. 30th game against Michigan State is approaching quickly.
The Irish defense took a step forward on Wednesday as Southern Indiana shot just 41.3 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from deep. Mike Brey would prefer the shooting percentage to come down a little more, but the Irish are limiting three-pointers from its opponents. Notre Dame has held its first three opponents under 10 threes made, which might not sound like a crucial stat, but the Irish defense is built on not giving up three points.
Lipscomb enters Friday’s contest shooting just 37.9 percent from deep, but the Bison have one of the best bench players the Irish will see all year.
Jacob Ognacevic is averaging 18.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game and he can score in bunches. The 6-foot-8 forward transferred to Lipscomb a year ago after spending a year at Valpo and scored in double figures 14 times last season, which includes seven 20+ point nights.
Perhaps the most significant news will come after the game as Notre Dame guard Marcus Hammond is set to be re-evaluated today after suffering a sprained MCL. The Irish need Hammond’s presence in the rotation and his scoring spurts certainly won’t hurt.
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