Game Thread | Notre Dame at Duke

Notre Dame (10-15, 2-12) at Duke (17-8 8-6)

Date: Feb. 14th

Time: 7:00 PM ET 

Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium | Durham, N.C.

TV: ESPN | Rece Davis and Debbie Antonelli

Line: Duke - 12.0 

O/U: 141

QUICK FACTS 

- Duke leads the all-time series 28-8.

- The Blue Devils won the most recent meeting 57-43 at Notre Dame in January of 2022. 

- Notre Dame holds a record of 2-9 at Duke. 

- The Irish rank No. 2 in the ACC in three-point percentage at 36.9 percent. 

- Cormac Ryan has scored in double figures in six consecutive games (career best)

- Mike Brey is 6-10 against Duke. 

PROJECTED STARTERS

Notre Dame

Duke

Preview

Notre Dame will travel to Duke for a Tuesday night matchup and there will be several storylines as Mike Brey makes his final trip to Cameron Indoor. 

Brey started his collegiate career at Duke and he admits there will be emotions heading back to where it all started. 

“A lot of memories going back there,” stated Brey. “I’m going to touch base with and get with Mike K (Krzyzewski) a little bit on game day. I want to catch him. I haven’t been able to talk to him since I made the announcement I was stepping down. I’d love to pick his brain on advice. Mike and I will probably be pickleball teammates in the 60 and over league and we’ll probably play at the Final Four this April.

“They’ll be a lot of memories in that building. I’m glad our guys get to compete in there. It’s a great opportunity and a great experience.” 

One of the highlights of Brey’s career came on January 16th, 2016. Notre Dame went into Cameron Indoor and left with a thrilling 95-91 victory over No. 9 Duke. Bonzie Colson scored 31 while pulling down 11 rebounds as the Irish scored 50 second half points. 

“2016,” Brey said. “Bonzie was going off. To win one in there when the place is rocking, it was unbelievable. You talk about things you remember in your career here - that was awesome. Any time we were able to beat them, especially when Mike was there, it gave our program great credibility. I’ll see some familiar faces for the last time.” 

Notre Dame did win at Duke in 2020, but it was a game without fans, which is a far cry from what the Irish will see on Tuesday. 

For Brey’s team to pull an upset, the Irish will need to score, which is something they did do on Saturday as Notre Dame put up 87 in a loss to Virginia Tech. 

“We’ve had some success in the past, but we’re going to have to score,” stated Brey. “I hope we can put 80 something up on the board because they can score.” 

The other piece will be stopping Duke’s offense. The Blue Devils only have two players average in double-figures, so it’s not a typical Duke offensive attack, but Notre Dame hasn’t proven they can stop anyone this year.

Virginia Tech big man Grant Basile went for 33 points on Saturday and the Irish will face another elite big man in Kyle Filipowski. The freshman forward is averaging 14.8 ppg and 9.2 rpg, but the bad news for Notre Dame is Flilpowski will be extremely motivated heading into tonight’s contest. 

The 7-footer was held scoreless for the first time in his career on Saturday as he went 0-for-6 from the field against Virginia, which ended in a Duke loss. Will Notre hold him scoreless? No, but Notre Dame can be physical with Filipowski and the other Duke youngsters. 

This also isn’t a typical Duke team as the record speaks for itself, but Notre Dame is 2-12 in the league. If the Irish can’t control the crowd and get off to a good start, it will be another long night for Notre Dame. 

Brey’s team will need to establish physicality and compete on the boards, which are things they haven’t done consistently to date despite being older than just about every team they’ve faced. 

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