Game Thread | Louisville at Notre Dame
Louisville (2-18, 0-9) at Notre Dame (9-12, 1-9)
Date: January 28th
Time: 12:00 PM ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion | South Bend, Ind.
TV: ESPN2 | Doug Sherman, Cory Alexander, Angel Gray
Line: Notre Dame -9.5
O/U: 138.0
QUICK FACTS
- Louisville leads the all-time series 27-17.
- Notre Dame holds a two-game winning streak in the series and is 10-8 at home vs. the Cards.
- The Irish have made 148 threes over the last 15 games, which leads all Power Five programs.
- Notre Dame leads the ACC in made threes per game at 9.2.
- Marcus Hammond is averaging 13.8 ppg over the last four games.
- Notre Dame and Louisville are a combined 1-18 in ACC play this season.
PROJECTED STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| JJ Starling | 12.0 | 2.9 | 1.4 |
| Marcus Hammond | 8.9 | 2.4 | 1.7 |
| Cormac Ryan | 11.5 | 4.3 | 2.3 |
| Dane Goodwin | 12.1 | 5.0 | 2.0 |
| Nate Laszewski | 13.8 | 7.3 | 1.5 |
Louisville
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| El Ellis | 17.8 | 2.5 | 4.7 |
| Mike James | 9.3 | 3.4 | 1.0 |
| Sydney Curry | 5.6 | 5.1 | 0.3 |
| Kamari Lands | 5.1 | 1.8 | 0.4 |
| Jae’Lyn Withers | 8.5 | 5.0 | 0.7 |
Preview
| Category | Louisville | Notre Dame |
| Points | 62.5 | 70.5 |
| Opponent Points | 75.2 | 72.0 |
| FG% | 40.9% | 45.3% |
| Rebounds | 31.9 | 30.9 |
| Assists | 8.8 | 12.2 |
| Blocks | 2.7 | 2.9 |
| Steals | 5.2 | 4.7 |
Notre Dame and Louisville are probably feeling like the spiderman GIF as January ends as Saturday’s battle at Purcell Pavilion will be between two teams with a combined ACC record of 1-18.
There is no denying Mike Brey’s program is struggling, but Louisville might be the recipe to get some confidence as the Cards are on the second nine-game losing streak of the season. Yes. Louisville has lost nine games in a row twice this year.
It’s also safe to say when this game was put on ESPN2 in the fall, the ACC and ESPN probably didn’t envision fans could see one of the worst basketball games of the season. Well, there’s always a chance it could become entertaining based on the even matchup, but it’s a far cry from the top 25 showdown 10 years ago that ended in five overtimes.
“We’re both fighting for our lives on Saturday,” stated Brey. “We showed some resolve down there the other night, but we still couldn’t get over the hump. It’s the reality of it. It’d be nice if we could get a win and maybe ride it through the bye week a little bit.”
Brey has messed with his starting five over the last month and now he could start to mingle in his bench rotation a little more. Freshman big Dom Campbell could be in line for more playing time, which would push the rotation to eight players.
“You keep an open mind to everything,” explained Brey. “We obviously didn’t start Nate and Dane the other night. If you’re not playing we’ll look at other things. Dom’s on my mind. As a future frontline guy here for the next coach, he and Ven-Allen Lubin would be really good together. You want to keep him intrigued and not running to the portal.”
Louisville ranks last in the ACC in nine major categories (19 total) - in fact, the Cards rank higher than 10th in just two team stats: Defensive rebounds 8th (34.2) and offensive rebounds 9th (9.1).
Brey knows the programs are in different spots, but looking to the future, the next Notre Dame coach will be in Kenny Payne’s situation as the Irish are looking at a total rebuild following the 2022-23 season.
“You have two basketball teams who have been pretty good in this league,” said Brey. “We’re fighting for our lives. That’s how fragile it is. Kenny’s trying to build the thing and completely rebuild it. You’re in this long enough and you see it all. You’re trying to help your guys get a win and help them a little bit in the last five minutes of the game.”
Imperial Notre Dame Fighting Irish Outdoor Bench
