Game Preview: #13 Notre Dame (4-0) vs LSU (3-0)
#13 Notre Dame (4-0) vs LSU Tigers (3-0)
Date: November 21th
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
Where: Lahaina Civic Center, Maui, Hawaii
TV: ESPN
QUICK FACTS
- Notre Dame is 4-3 in the Maul Invitational.
- LSU beat Notre Dame 87-64 in the only meeting between the two programs. Oh, Shaquille O'Neal and Stanley Roberts were on the floor for the Tigers.
- LSU advanced on Monday night beating Michigan 77-75
- Matt Farrell scored a career-high 27 points on Monday night.
- Bonzie Colson has 11 blocks in the last three games.
- Colson is the 10th Notre Dame player to score 1,300 points and grab 700 rebounds.
NOTRE DAME MAUI INVITATIONAL HISTORY
2017
Notre Dame 83 Chaminade 56
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 | 18.3 | 3.8 | 3.8 |
| TJ Gibbs | 15.0 | 2.8 | 2.8 |
| Rex Pflueger | 6.8 | 6.0 | 2.5 |
| Bonzie Colson | 20.8 | 10.3 | 1.8 |
| Martinas Geben | 6.5 | 5.0 | 0.8 |
LSU
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Tremont Waters | 17.7 | 2.3 | 6.0 |
| Brandon Sampson | 13.3 | 5.0 | 2.3 |
| Skylar Mays | 11.7 | 3.0 | 3.3 |
| Wayde Sims | 8.7 | 3.0 | 0 |
| Doup Reath | 12.0 | 4.3 | 0.7 |
National Rankings
| Category | Notre Dame | LSU |
| Scoring Offense | 88.3 (50) | 102 (4) |
| Scoring Defense | 62.0 (46) | 72.5 (182) |
| Rebound Margin | 10.3 (42) | 6.5 (99) |
| Assist Per Game | 15.0 (127) | 23.5 (4) |
| FG% Offense | 54.0% (17) | 60.5% (1) |
| FG% Defense | 36.4% (44) | 44.3% (229) |
| Three-Pointers Per Game | 8.07 (112) | 9.5 (71) |
| Three-Point Percentage | 42.6% (40) | 45.2% (16) |
| Free-Throw Percentage | 78.5% (33) | 79.5% (25) |
| Assist-Turnover Ratio | 1.67 (30) | 2.94 (2) |
Preview
Notre Dame has struggled with teams with superior athleticism in the past, so facing off against LSU will be a significant early season test for the Irish. The Tigers aren't overly tall, which is a good thing for Notre Dame, but LSU boasts one of the top offenses in the nation.
The battle between LSU point guard Tremont Waters and Notre Dame point guard Matt Farrell could turn into must-see TV on Tuesday night. Waters scored 21 points in the victory against Michigan, while Farrell dropped 27 on Chaminade on Monday.
However, I do believe the X-factor in this game will be two guys off the bench. Notre Dame forward DJ Harvey is averaging 10.3ppg and 3.0rpg on the year. On Monday, the 6-foot-6 freshman scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting coming off a 16-point performance last Friday.
LSU will bring Aaron Epps off the bench and the 6-foot-10 forward was the difference against the Wolverines on Monday night. Epps scored 14 points in 23 minutes and was 6-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
The bench will likely get some early minutes, as back-to-back games are uncommon in college basketball and both teams have a third game on Wednesday.
It will also be interesting to see how Notre Dame forward Bonzie Colson does against some NBA-like athleticism in the post. Colson has done well against Duke and North Carolina in the past, but Tuesday night will be our first look at how far his game has come in the last year.
Despite both teams playing the last two games of the night on Monday, I believe this game turns into an offensive one and the defense takes a backseat to guys that can scorer the basketball.
Prediction: Notre Dame 86 LSU 83