Game Thread | Miami at Notre Dame
Miami (12-6, 3-4) at Notre Dame (7-11, 2-5)
Date: January 24th
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion | South Bend, Ind.
TV: ESPN2
Line: Miami -4.5
O/U: 139.5
QUICK FACTS
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 15-14.
- The Hurricanes won the last meeting 62-49 in December.
- Notre Dame’s scoring defense ranks No. 2 in the ACC 65.1 ppg.
- Freshman Markus Burton has scored in double figures in 11 straight games
- Burton is averaging 5.2 assists per game in ACC play.
- ESPN’s Matchup Predictor: 70.3% in favor of Miami
PROJECTED STARTERS
NOTRE DAME
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Markus Burton | 16.3 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
| JR Konieczny | 9.4 | 5.7 | 0.8 |
| Tae Davis | 8.1 | 5.5 | 0.8 |
| Carey Booth | 6.4 | 4.8 | 0.4 |
| Kebba Njie | 4.4 | 6.3 | 0.8 |
MIAMI
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Nigel Pack | 14.3 | 2.9 | 3.7 |
| Keyshawn George | 7.3 | 2.8 | 1.8 |
| Matthew Cleveland | 15.6 | 5.7 | 2.0 |
| Wooga Poplar | 15.2 | 4.8 | 2.3 |
| Norchad Omier | 17.2 | 9.6 | 1.2 |
TEAM STATS
| STAT | MIAMI | NOTRE DAME |
| Scoring Offense | 82.4 | 62.8 |
| Scoring Defense | 72.9 | 65.1 |
| FG% | 49.1% | 40.2% |
| Rebounds | 37.1 | 37.8 |
| Assists | 15.4 | 9.7 |
| Blocks | 3.4 | 2.6 |
| Steals | 7.9 | 5.5 |
| Turnovers | 12.8 | 13.6 |
THOUGHTS
Miami has been hit by the injury bug and it’s greatly impacted ACC play to this point. The Canes were without Norchad Omier in Saturday’s loss to Syracuse, but Miami head coach Jim Larranaga was hopeful he’d get his leading scorer back for Wednesday’s game. If Omier can’t go, Larranaga will turn to 6-foot-10 freshman Michael Nwoko, who is averaging 2.3 ppg and 2.0 rpg.
On the other side, Micah Shrewsberry believes his team is healthy outside the normal wear and tear of the season following a nine-day break from action.
What did the Irish do over the break?
“Really focusing on the offensive side, really cleaning up some situational things that we haven’t been able to go through and do since fall practice,” stated Shrewsberry. “So really working on those things as well.
“Yesterday (Monday) started game prep again, so we ratcheted up the intensity. Here’s the level that we need to pay on the defensive end. I thought our guys really responded, came out with great energy, really guarded at a high level, so that gives you a good sense that we could do those things without taking a step back.”
Notre Dame struggled at Miami in December in the 62-49 loss. The Irish shot 28.6 percent from the floor and 18.8 percent from three. What makes Wednesday’s game interesting, aside from the injuries, is the fact Notre Dame held Miami 20 points below its season average in Coral Gables.
And Shrewsberry believes the Irish are an even better defensive team now.
“I focus on a lot defensively and how we’re doing and how we’re playing,” Shrewsberry explained. “We look unrecognizable. We were all over the place. Just simple things, simple coverages - we’re going underneath flare screens and they’re stopping behind, making threes. We’re going under ball screens, they stop and they make a three. They’re getting into the dribble weave, we got two guys running with somebody without the ball and nobody’s guarding the ball.
“We were a disaster, so I hope we’ve improved in that area. That’s kind of the biggest thing. You can see where we’ve grown, especially on the defensive end, being able to handle things on the fly. We can kind of talk through things a little bit better.”
Defense hasn’t been an issue in ACC play, but the Irish offense has struggled and struggled greatly at times. As it relates to Miami, Notre Dame recorded 15 offensive rebounds against the Canes but scored just 11 second-chance points.
It’s an area where Notre Dame improve immediately as easy buckets are there and finishing has been a focus over the last week, which isn’t a surprise as the Irish have been involved in several close games over the last month.
And those close loses are something Shrewsberry isn’t pleased about, but it’s a sign Notre Dame is headed down the right path in year one of an enormous rebuild.
“If you’re just coming in every single game and you’re getting your doors blown off, that gets discouraging,” said Shrewsberry. “It gets discouraging because we wants to win, but we know that we’re close enough and if we keep doing the things that we’re doing, we have a chance to win. Now, we have to get better in certain areas so we can, but we’re starting to see it.
“We’re seeing the work that we put in as staff, as players, coming through the right way.”
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