Game Thread | The Citadel at Notre Dame
The Citadel (6-5) at Notre Dame (4-6)
Date: December 16th
Time: 6:00 PM ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion | South Bend, Ind.
TV: ACC Network | Wes Durham and Dan Bonner
Line: Notre Dame -9.5
O/U: 129.5
QUICK FACTS
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 2-0
- The Irish won the last meeting 74-50 in November of 2016
- Markus Burton leads off ACC freshmen in scoring at 15.8 ppg
- Former Notre Dame walk-on Elijah Morgan starts for Bulldogs
- ESPN’s Matchup Predictor: 72.1% in favor of Notre Dame
PROJECTED STARTERS
NOTRE DAME
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Markus Burton | 15.8 | 3.5 | 3.7 |
| JR Konieczny | 9.4 | 5.4 | 0.8 |
| Braeden Shrewsberry | 8.0 | 2.2 | 1.0 |
| Tae Davis | 9.0 | 5.9 | 0.7 |
| Kebba Njie | 3.8 | 4.2 | 1.0 |
THE CITADEL
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Madison Durr | 9.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| AJ Smith | 16.6 | 3.9 | 0.8 |
| Elijah Morgan | 11.7 | 3.7 | 0.9 |
| Winston Hill | 9.1 | 6.8 | 1.3 |
| Quentin Millora-Brown | 9.1 | 9.3 | 2.3 |
TEAM STATS
| STAT | THE CITADEL | NOTRE DAME |
| Scoring Offense | 71.2 | 64.6 |
| Scoring Defense | 66.4 | 67.8 |
| FG% | 44.9% | 40.7% |
| Rebounds | 37.3 | 35.7 |
| Assists | 10.9 | 10.7 |
| Steals | 5.0 | 6.0 |
| Blocks | 3.2 | 2.5 |
THOUGHTS
Not much to say here other than Notre Dame simply needs to win on Tuesday. The Irish have lost four of the last five and conference play is right around the corner, so winning Tuesday and Friday are crucial for the program as Micah Shrewsberry has just one win against major conference opponents.
When it comes to goals, Notre Dame needs to do the simple things and it starts with applying coaching. Shrewsberry highlighted his team’s lack of discipline following Saturday’s loss to Georgetown as he explained multiple instances where players simply didn’t do what the staff advised, including the final play where the ball failed to get on the correct side of the floor.
The Irish could also use a game where they see the ball go in from deep. Notre Dame shot just 8-for-32 from three-point range on Saturday, so getting some type of rhythm beyond the arc is needed before Virginia comes to South Bend on December 30th.
Purcell Pavilion will welcome a familiar face as former Notre Dame walk-on Elijah Morgan will return to South Bend. Morgan is averaging 11.7 ppg and will likely be more than excited to face his former team - well what’s left of it.
But winning the game is what this team needs as an upset could have tragic implications for the 2023-24 campaign.
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