Game Thread | Notre Dame at Louisville
Notre Dame (9-16, 4-10) at Louisville (8-18, 3-12)
Date: February 21st
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Where: KFC YUM! Center | Louisville, Ky.
TV: ESPNU | Anish Shroff and Tom Crean
Line: Louisville -1.5
O/U: 134.5
QUICK FACTS
- Louisville leads the all-time series 27-17
- In the last meeting, Notre Dame won 76-62 in January of 2023
- Freshman Markus Burton has scored in double figures in 18 straight games
- Burton has scored 406 points this season, which is No. 7 all-time for a Notre Dame freshman
- Notre Dame is No. 2 in the ACC in scoring defense at 65.3 ppg
- Louisville is averaging an attendance of 11,611 this year. Capacity is 22,090
- ESPN’s Matchup Predictor: 53.7% in favor of Louisville
PROJECTED STARTERS
NOTRE DAME
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Markus Burton | 16.2 | 3.1 | 4.2 |
| Braeden Shrewsberry | 9.2 | 2.4 | 0.8 |
| Tae Davis | 8.2 | 5.2 | 0.8 |
| Carey Booth | 5.5 | 4.3 | 0.4 |
| Kebba Njie | 4.5 | 5.8 | 0.7 |
LOUISVILLE
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Mike James | 13.5 | 5.0 | 1.5 |
| Tre White | 13.2 | 6.2 | 1.4 |
| Skyy Clark | 13.1 | 3.1 | 2.9 |
| Kaleb Glenn | 3.5 | 3.5 | 0.2 |
| Brandon Huntley-Hatfield | 12.3 | 8.5 | 1.0 |
TEAM STATS
| STAT | LOUISVILLE | NOTRE DAME |
| Scoring Offense | 73.4 | 61.9 |
| Scoring Defense | 78.9 | 65.3 |
| FG% | 43.9% | 39.8% |
| Rebounds | 35.3 | 36.5 |
| Assists | 11.1 | 9.8 |
| Blocks | 2.6 | 2.6 |
| Steals | 5.3 | 5.9 |
| Turnovers | 12.8 | 13.2 |
THOUGHTS
Notre Dame traveling to Louisville used to mean something, but this year, it’s a game for pride. The Irish are on a two-game winning streak and will play for the first time in a week. Louisville has lost two in a row and sits in last place in the ACC.
The game will feature two of the worst offenses in the ACC and the x-factor will be defense. Notre Dame enters the game No. 2 in the ACC in scoring defense (65.3 ppg), while Louisville owns the conference's worst scoring defense at 78.9 ppg.
Defense travels and the Irish haven’t lost a game due to lack of getting stops. In fact, Notre Dame hasn’t allowed an ACC team to score 80 points this season. On the flipside, Notre Dame is the worst shooting team in the ACC. The Irish are the only team in the conference shooting under 40 percent from the field and teams do have to score to win games at the end of the day.
When it comes to keys to the game, it starts with the three-ball. Louisville and Notre Dame rank No. 14 and No. 15 in the ACC in three-point percentage. The Cardinals are shooting at a clip of 30.7 percent while the Irish sit at 29.8 percent. If one team can get hot from three, it could decide this game.
The other key will be a usual one for Notre Dame. Micah Shrewsberry needs one (or two) players to step up and help Markus Burton. It had been Braeden Shrewsberry for a stretch, but last week, it was Tae Davis. Burton is still doing his part as he’s recorded back-to-back games of 15 points, five rebounds and five steals, which hadn’t been done by a Notre Dame player in at least 25 years.
Shrewsberry mentioned he wanted to add slight schematic changes during the week off, but hinted those would be on defense. Could he add a new wrinkle on offense to help take some of the pressure off Burton in the second half? If so, it could be the difference in leaving Louisville with a win.
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