Game Thread | Stonehill at Notre Dame

Stonehill (1-0) at Notre Dame (0-0)

Date: November 6th

Time: 7:00 PM ET 

Where: Purcell Pavilion | Notre Dame, Ind. 

TV: ACC Network Network Extra | Tyler Riedy and Bill Fenlon 

Line: Notre Dame -26.5

O/U: 138.5

QUICK FACTS 

- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 2-0. 

- The Irish won the last meeting 74-60 in 1982. 

- Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry holds a record of 13-20 in the blue and gold. 

- The Irish return 85.6 percent of its scoring from a year ago. 

- Sophomore guard Markus Burton was named preseason All-ACC First Team. 

- Notre Dame will enter the 2024-25 campaign with 1,964 wins. 

- Stonehill won its first game of the season on Monday night 81-62 over Framingham State. 

PROJECTED STARTERS

Notre Dame

Stonehill 

Preview

It’s year two of the Micah Shrewsberry era and there are expectations for the Notre Dame program. The Irish return one of the top players in the ACC, Markus Burton, while they bolstered depth through the transfer portal and recruiting with key additions. 

The Irish struggled a year ago on offense, and those concerns don’t appear to be there heading into Wednesday’s season opener against Stonehill. In fact, Shrewsberry expects Notre Dame to look completely different on the offensive end. 

”I think our pace has improved,” explained Shrewsberry. “I think we’re not scared to take a shot with 27 seconds on the shot clock. It’s going to happen. We’re going to get the ball out of the net, kick it ahead and someone is going to shoot a three off one pass with 27 on the clock, and I’m OK with that. I’ve seen our guys and how they’ve worked and what they’ve done. 

“I think our biggest improvement is our ball movement, how we’re sharing the ball with each other. I always kept talking about how we want to be a high assist team and we could never get to that last year. I think we had 19 the other night and I think we were at maybe 22 against Xavier. We want to be a high assist team. You can do that when the ball is moving.” 

There is also a comfort level in year two. Notre Dame’s players are comfortable with practice structure, offense, defense and everything in between. 

“I think it's been a much more mature group in how we've handled day-to-day, where we don't have to overdo stuff,” stated Shrewsberry. “There's some guys who need a lot of work. Some guys don't need a lot of work, and there's days where we take 30 minutes for new guys and freshmen to just do defensive drills that some of the older guys might not. 

“It's a lot different. I think some of that's from the maturity of the older guys, and then some of that's the younger guys growing and understanding that, like, 'Hey, this is what it takes for us to be good. We're still trying to reach that point, but we at least know what it takes for us to be good. And we have to operate that way on a daily basis.”

Perhaps the biggest change will be the fact Burton won’t have to do it all. A year ago, Burton averaged 17.5 ppg on his way to being named ACC Rookie of the Year. 

This season, Burton’s production is expected to remain high, but with more talent around him, the Indiana native can be more efficient and it starts with having a veteran guard playing with him in Matt Allocco. 

”I think they’ve been really helpful for each other,” said Shrewsberry. “Mush (Allocco) just blends in. Whatever is kind of needed is what he does. If there’s possessions where we may need a bucket, he can sense it. How can I find a way to help Markus get us a bucket here? Right now, he (Burton) doesn’t feel like he has to do everything himself. He has other people thinking about him to set him up. We didn’t have that ability last year to do it.” 

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Blackout 3.0 Tonal Raglan Pullover Hoodie