Game Preview: #13 Notre Dame (3-0) vs Chaminade (2-0)
Chaminade Silverswords (2-0) vs #13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-0)
Date: November 20th
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
Where: Lahaina Civic Center, Maui, Hawaii
TV: ESPNU
QUICK FACTS
- Notre Dame is 3-3 in the Maul Invitational.
- The Irish finished as the runner-up in 2008 in the Maui Invitational.
- This trip will mark Notre Dame's fifth trip to Hawaii for an early-season tournament.
- Chaminade is 7-78 all-time in the Maui Invitational.
- Notre Dame will face the winner of Michigan-LSU on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. ET
NOTRE DAME MAUI INVITATIONAL HISTORY
2008
Notre Dame 88, Indiana 50
Notre Dame 81, Texas 80
North Carolina 102, Notre Dame 87
1993
Arizona 98, Notre Dame 79
Notre Dame 94, Chaminade 78
Texas 89, Notre Dame 72
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Matt Farrell | 15.3 | 3.0 | 3.7 |
| TJ Gibbs | 17.7 | 1.7 | 2.7 |
| Rex Pflueger | 7.7 | 7.0 | 2.0 |
| Bonzie Colson | 20.0 | 11.0 | 2.3 |
| Martinas Geben | 7.3 | 4.3 | 0.7 |
Chaminade
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Dantley Walker | 10.5 | 2.5 | 1.0 |
| Grant Dressler | 8.5 | 6.5 | 4.0 |
| Austin Pope | 9.5 | 7.0 | 4.0 |
| Brandon Koelliker | 11.0 | 4.0 | 1.5 |
| Erik Schieve | 10.5 | 4.5 | 0.5 |
National Rankings
| Category | Notre Dame | Chaminade |
| Scoring Margin | 26.3 (34) | 9.5 (74) |
| Blocked Shots Per Game | 5.7 (43) | 5.5 (19) |
| Rebound Margin | 10.3 (45) | -3.0 (207) |
| Assist Per Game | 15.0 (131) | 17.0 (68) |
| FG% Offense | 54.0% (18) | 43.8% (178) |
| FG% Defense | 36.4% (49) | 36.4% (15) |
| Three-Pointers Per Game | 8.07 (108) | 7.5 (156) |
| Three-Point Percentage | 42.6% (42) | 34.9% (156) |
| Free-Throw Percentage | 78.5% (36) | 67.7% (1778) |
| Assist-Turnover Ratio | 1.67 (31) | 1.48 (40) |
Preview
Chaminade might be a Division II program but the Silverswords knocked off Texas in 2012 in the opening round. This will be an interesting matchup for the Irish as the Silverswords have some length on the perimeter. Austin Pope (6'6) and Grant Dressler (6'7) will make the Irish work on the offensive end of the floor.
The leading scorer for Chaminade, Justin Bridges, comes off the bench and is averaging 12.0 points per game.
Notre Dame passed its first road test of the year against DePaul, but this will be a different environment and with games three days in a row, so it will be interesting to see how head coach Mike Brey works his rotation.
Bonzie Colson has played more minutes to this point in the season than I was expecting, as he has played 94 minutes in the first three games. Notre Dame has also played TJ Gibbs 100 minutes, Matt Farrell 98 minutes and Rex Pflueger 97 minutes out of 120 game minutes thus far.
Not sure Brey can get away with playing those guys that many minutes over a three-day stretch, however, the Irish are very much interested in winning the Maui Invitational, so we'll see.
If freshman DJ Harvey can provide some scoring this week, it could be big to cut down those minutes. Sophomore guard Nik Djogo could also find himself in a larger role this week and he's been itching for a chance to show what he can do with bigger minutes.
When push comes to shove on Monday, Colson will be too much for the Silverswords and I expect him to dominate inside.
Prediction: Notre Dame 84 Chaminade 69