Game Thread | Notre Dame at No. 8 Marquette
Notre Dame (4-4) at No. 8 Marquette (7-2)
Date: December 9th
Time: 9:00 PM ET
Where: Fiserv Forum | Milwaukee, Wis.
TV: FOX | Brandon Gaudin and LaPhonso Ellis
Line: Marquette -20.5
O/U: 138.5
QUICK FACTS
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 81-38
- Marquette beat Notre Dame 79-64 last December
- Notre Dame hasn’t beaten a top 10 team on the road since 2016
- ESPN’s Matchup Predictor: 95.8% in favor of Marquette
PROJECTED STARTERS
NOTRE DAME
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Markus Burton | 15.1 | 3.5 | 3.9 |
| JR Konieczny | 9.3 | 5.1 | 0.8 |
| Julian Roper II | 8.4 | 5.4 | 1.1 |
| Tae Davis | 10.4 | 6.3 | 0.6 |
| Kebba Njie | 5.0 | 3.8 | 1.3 |
MARQUETTE
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Tyler Kolek | 15.1 | 5.1 | 5.3 |
| Stevie Mitchell | 5.8 | 2.7 | 0.8 |
| Kam Jones | 16.4 | 2.9 | 2.4 |
| David Joplin | 8.2 | 3.1 | 0.2 |
| Oso Oghodaro | 12.2 | 6.3 | 2.1 |
TEAM STATS
| STAT | NOTRE DAME | MARQUETTE |
| Scoring Offense | 64.9 | 80.0 |
| Scoring Defense | 66.0 | 66.8 |
| FG% | 41.4% | 48.4% |
| Rebounds | 36.4 | 33.2 |
| Assists | 11.1 | 15.3 |
| Steals | 5.1 | 8.8 |
| Blocks | 2.8 | 2.2 |
THOUGHTS
- Notre Dame hasn’t beaten a top 10 team on the road since 2016 and it would be a major shock to even Micah Shrewsberry if the Fighting Irish upset No. 8 Marquette on Saturday night.
Shrewsberry isn’t admitting defeat by any means, but he’s also a realist as he knows the Irish will be overmatched in several areas, including experience which Notre Dame hasn’t been able to overcome to this point in the season.
“Their ranking is well deserved,” stated Shrewsberry. “They're good offensively and defensively and they pose challenges for you. Now, it's about what do you choose to focus on, right? Right now, you look at their team, they've got continuity since Shaka (Smart) has been there. Everybody in their starting lineup has been there three years. They've been playing together, so there are things that they're going to be able to do that we're not going to be able to know how to guard it. Now, it's a matter of, I hope they don't do it, right?”
Communication and recognizing situations have been an emphasis for Shrewsberry over the last few weeks. Shrewsberry admitted his team hasn’t been able to recognize plays every college basketball runs due to inexperience, but that he hopes his team shows growth in that area moving forward.
Will it happen on Saturday? It’ll be a tough task, but Shrewsberry hopes his team takes a step forward.
"There are things that we need to focus on, but if you focus on too many things, you end up not being good at anything,” explained Shrewsberry. “So we need to focus on the changes that we can make, that are small tweaks for this game and let's focus on that and then let our effort cover up anything else that comes up.
"It always starts on defense because they're a great offensive team. They play at a tremendous pace. They have shooters everywhere and 43 percent of their field goals are at the rim. They pose a lot of problems for you on both sides of the ball."
Notre Dame’s transition defense was an emphasis heading into the Miami game last weekend and the Irish did pretty well. Marquette will also test the Irish with pace and second-chance points.
The Golden Eagles are led by a plethora of scores, but Tyler Kolek, who won Big East Player of the Year last season, will be a focus point as he scored 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting including 4-of-9 from three in Marquette’s 86-65 win over No. 12 Texas on Wednesday.
"Transition defense, a lot of that is effort,” stated Shrewsberry. “We're asking guys to go to the offensive boards, and then we've got to sprint (back). You've got to be a sprinter in transition. you've got to sprint back and get turned around. (Marquette), I'm watching film, they've scored on made field goals within six or seven seconds. There are no home-run trots. There is no buddy running. I've got to sprint back and build a wall. That's where the effort comes in with our guys.
“For the most part, we're guarding with really good effort. Where we're getting scored on is our confusion or our positioning, which should continue to rise."
On the offensive end, Notre Dame will have to deal with a pesky defense as that’s always a staple of a Shaka Smart team. The Golden Eagles return four of five starters from last year’s team that went 29-7, so there won’t be much this group hasn’t seen.
Limiting turnovers will be priority one for the Irish, but for a team that entered the week shooting under 40 percent from the field, there are multiple areas of concern.
“Our offense has to be really good,” Shrewsberry explained. “We have to play with poise, You're not going to drive the ball on the first side or the court against them. They are as well drilled at coming over and helping as anybody I've seen. We've got to know that's not there for you and be patient how you attack.
“Now the second or third drive, you might get a layup, but it ain't happening on the first drive. It's not happening. Unless you're out by yourself on a transition layup, that's the only time you're going to get a layup without a pass or without the ball moving."
And yes, Shrewsberry is preparing his youngsters for an electric atmosphere, which is something Notre Dame hasn’t quite seen this season. The environment at South Carolina was decent, but it will likely be nothing compared to what the Irish see at Marquette.
"I don't know if anything will prepare us for this one,” said Shrewsberry. “It will be rocking in there. They have great fans. It will be well-attended and it will be loud. You just gotta play with poise. That's the only thing. It's hard to play on the road. You've got to be really good. You've got to be really good when you play on the road, no matter who you play.
“The moment you get distracted up there (in the stands), it ain't going to help you with anything on the court."
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