HOOPS Preview: Chicago State (1-2) at #13 Notre Dame (2-0)
Chicago State Cougars (1-2) vs #13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2-0)
Date: November 16th
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion, Notre Dame, Ind.
TV: ACC Network Extra and on WatchESPN
QUICK FACTS
- Thursday will be the fifth meeting between the two programs. Notre Dame holds a 4-0 advantage.
- Notre Dame beat Chicago State 91-60 a year ago, but the Cougars return three starters from last year.
- The Notre Dame senior class is on pace to become the all-time winningest class in program history. Last year's senior class set the record with 97 wins, but Bonzie Colson, Matt Farrell, Martinas Geben and Austin Torres currently have 84 wins.
- Bonzie Colson has scored 18 or more points in 10 straight games.
- Matt Farrell has made a three-pointer in 28 consecutive games.
- Colson currently has 712 career rebounds.
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Matt Farrell | 14.0 | 2.0 | 3.5 |
| TJ Gibbs | 15.0 | 3.0 | 2.5 |
| Rex Pflueger | 8.0 | 9.5 | 2.5 |
| Bonzie Colson | 22.5 | 12.0 | 3.0 |
| Martinas Geben | 7.0 | 4.5 | 0.5 |
Chicago State
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Rob Shaw | 7.3 | 1.7 | 4.0 |
| Fred Sims Jr. | 13.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 |
| Anthony Harris | 9.3 | 2.7 | 1.3 |
| Glenn Burns | 6.3 | 2.3 | 2.7 |
| Patrick Szpir | 4.0 | 2.7 | 1.0 |
National Rankings
| Category | Notre Dame | Chicago State |
| Scoring Offense | 80.0 (137) | 68.3 (272) |
| Scoring Defense | 60.0 (56) | 86.3 (306) |
| Rebound Margin | 7.0 (114) | -12.0 (318) |
| Assist Per Game | 13.5 (176) | 13.0 (188) |
| FG% Offense | 50.0% (72) | 37.3% (309) |
| FG% Defense | 36.5% (67) | 51.8% (326) |
| Three-Pointers Made | 8.0 (136) | 3.7 (329) |
| Three-Point Percentage | 41.0% (70) | 16.9% (343) |
| Free-Throw Percentage | 80.0% | 62.5% (268) |
| Assist-Turnover Ratio | 1.80 (31) | 0.81 (233) |
Preview
There isn't much to say about this one. Chicago State is one of the worst opponents Notre Dame will see this year and this game shouldn't be close. The Cougars are 15th in the country in steals at 11.3 per game, but everything else is pretty bad.
Notre Dame should jump on the Cougars early and get Bonzie Colson, Matt Farrell and Rex Pflueger some rest as the Irish are in a stretch of six games in 11 days.
If the Irish can get out early on the Cougars, head coach Mike Brey will likely give plenty of work to Elijah Burns, DJ Harvey, John Mooney and Nik Djogo. It's crucial these guys steal early minutes in the season as the Irish will count on them at some point this year.
I stated it was important to get Martinas Geben some confidence early in the year, but this is a game where the youth on the team can get significant minutes and experience.
One area I would like to see Notre Dame work on is its zone defense. It's a piece to the puzzle that could come into play later in the year and getting some early work isn't a bad thing, especially against a team that shoots 16 percent from behind the arc.
Prediction: Notre Dame 94 Chicago State 58