Game Thread | Boston College at Notre Dame
Boston College (11-8, 2-6) at Notre Dame (7-12, 2-6)
Date: January 27th
Time: 12:00 PM ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion | South Bend, Ind.
TV: ESPNU
Line: -2.5 Boston College
O/U: 134.5
QUICK FACTS
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 25-16
- The Eagles beat Notre Dame 63-59 on January 15th
- Notre Dame’s defense checks in at No. 45 on KenPom
- Freshman Markus Burton has scored in double figures in 12 straight games
- The Irish now have two players averaging over 1.0 apg in Markus Burton (3.9) and Logan Imes (1.1)
- ESPN’s Matchup Predictor: 57.9% in favor of Boston College
PROJECTED STARTERS
NOTRE DAME
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Markus Burton | 16.3 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
| JR Konieczny | 9.6 | 5.7 | 0.7 |
| Tae Davis | 8.2 | 5.4 | 0.8 |
| Carey Booth | 6.3 | 4.6 | 0.4 |
| Kebba Njie | 4.4 | 6.2 | 0.7 |
BOSTON COLLEGE
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Jaeden Zackery | 11.6 | 3.2 | 4.4 |
| Chas Kelley III | 3.9 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Prince Aligbe | 6.8 | 4.4 | 0.7 |
| Devin McGlockton | 10.4 | 6.6 | 0.9 |
| Quinten Post | 16.9 | 7.6 | 2.9 |
TEAM STATS
| STAT | BOSTON COLLEGE | NOTRE DAME |
| Scoring Offense | 77.0 | 62.7 |
| Scoring Defense | 73.2 | 65.5 |
| FG% | 46.0% | 40.1% |
| Rebounds | 34.8 | 37.6 |
| Assists | 13.8 | 9.7 |
| Blocks | 3.8 | 2.7 |
| Steals | 6.4 | 5.7 |
| Turnovers | 9.7 | 13.7 |
THOUGHTS
Saturday comes down to how much Notre Dame wants to win and if they can finally be disciplined enough to finish off an opponent. The Irish effort in the first half was extremely poor during Wednesday’s loss to Miami and it got to the point where Micah Shrewsberry benched two starters, Carey Booth and Kebba Njie, for the entire second half.
Notre Dame’s small lineup played hard, but still were outscored 36-32 in the final 20 minutes and collapsed over the final minutes, which included the 17-2 run Miami used to coast to a win.
And no. There was no thought for Shrewsberry to bring his two starters back despite the Irish running out of gas.
“I’ll stick with the dudes that are gonna give me the effort that I want,” said Shrewsberry. “That group established, from the start of the second half, how hard you needed to play in order for us to win. So I was gonna roll with those dudes the rest of the half.”
It’s a refreshing take, but also one that likely cost Notre Dame a chance to win an ACC game. And that’s fine as this year is more about building for the future than wins, yet the Irish are on the edge of a dangerous downward slope.
Effort and finding some type of offense aside, Notre Dame needs a win as they’ve lost five of the last six games in ACC play and Boston College is more than beatable as the Irish let one slip less than two weeks ago in Chestnut Hill 63-59.
A win would provide momentum into one of the hardest stretches of the year for Shrewsberry’s club as they will play at Virginia, Pitt and Duke over the next week and a half before returning to face Virginia Tech at home.
If the Irish drop the rematch with the Eagles, Notre Dame will likely have some serious soul-searching to do, given the task ahead.
How does Notre Dame get a win?
It’s simple. Continue to play quality defense, win the boards and find a way to limit mistakes. Notre Dame has proven itself on the defensive end of the floor and that’s been the one consistent this year. The defensive presence shouldn’t change on Saturday, but stopping Quinten Post is also something Notre Dame must do. Post scored 11 of his 17 points in the final five minutes of the first meeting, which sealed the game for the Eagles.
On offense, the Irish need to find a way not to have key turnovers or scoring droughts in the final 10 minutes of games. Tae Davis (or anyone else) has to step up to help take some of the pressure off Burton at some point this year in game situations.
At the end of the day, it simply comes down Notre Dame not beating Notre Dame in the final minutes of the game. If the Irish can eliminate those mistakes of the last two weeks, Notre Dame should have its third ACC win of the year by 3:00pm ET.
Want the latest scoop on the Fighting Irish? Sign up for our newsletter and become an ISD Premium Subscriber: Sign Up for Here!
Columbia Navy Notre Dame Fighting Irish Powder Lite Omni-Heat Reflective Full-Zip Jacket
