Game Thread | Notre Dame at Georgia Tech

Notre Dame (6-9, 1-3) at Georgia Tech (8-6, 1-2) 

Date: January 9th

Time: 9:00 PM ET 

Where: McCamish Pavilion | Atlanta, Ga. 

TV: ACC Network | Mike Monaco and Randolph Childress 

Line: Georgia Tech -6.5

O/U: 132.5

ACC Standings

QUICK FACTS 

- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 15-13

- The Yellow Jackets won the last meeting 70-68 last February

- Notre Dame is just 3-10 at Georgia Tech

- Micah Shrewsberry and Damon Stoudamire are both first-year head coaches at their respective programs

- ESPN’s Matchup Predictor: 79.2% in favor of Georgia Tech 

PROJECTED STARTERS

NOTRE DAME

GEORGIA TECH

TEAM STATS

THOUGHTS

Notre Dame and Georgia Tech will have new coaches and rosters roaming the sidelines on Tuesday night, but history shows this could be one of the most entertaining games of the season. 13 of the last 20 meetings between the two programs have been decided by five points or less. In fact, three of the last five meetings were decided by possession and that doesn’t include a four-point Notre Dame win in 2022. 

The Irish seemed to have turned a corner in the last week and a half as they rolled Virginia and should have ACC wins against Duke and NC State. It’s a positive step, but the Irish still went 1-2 in those games, whether it was a lack of discipline or the inability to find offense late in the game. 

Micah Shrewsberry’s team is still a work in progress and this game will be another measuring stick. Notre Dame hasn’t played on the road in a month, as the last time the Irish didn’t play in Purcell Pavilion was the Marquette game.

It’s a different team, but are the Irish mature enough to handle a road environment or new surroundings? 

The good vibes around the program come from Notre Dame’s defensive efforts. Over the last 10 games, Notre Dame is allowing just 63.8 ppg and rank second in the ACC in scoring defense at 64.9 ppg.

Now, the bad news is Notre Dame is averaging just 60.7 ppg over the last 10 games and shot under 40 percent from the field in those contests. 

Offense is a problem and there’s no answer at the moment. Freshman point guard Markus Burton is averaging 16.2 ppg, which is a positive and negative. The Mishawaka native has scored in double figures in 13 of 15 games, including eight games in a row. Burton has been efficient for the most part, but against Duke, he finished just 7-of-21 from the field. Shrewsberry has to live with a high volume of shots because Burton is the only Irish player averaging in double figures. 

Yet, the lack of consistent scoring from anyone outside of Burton isn’t the wildest stat coming from the Notre Dame program. 

Notre Dame has just one player averaging more than one assist per game and that’s also Burton at 3.9 apg.

Let that sink in for a second. 

And yes, Shrewsberry admitted his team isn’t where it needs to be on offense and that might not change this season. 

“We’re limited in who we are as a team offensively currently as constructed,” said Shrewsberry. “We’re limited. We’ll grow and keep getting better. I don’t know how much that changes this year. We’ll get better in our execution and what we’re doing and have everyone on the same page, so our focus has to be better offensively. 

“Guys have off nights sometimes, but our effort can’t be off. Our focus and discipline can’t be off. My shot might be off, but the other stuff can’t be and that’s where sometimes we’ll go on a roller coaster.” 

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