Game Preview: St. Francis Brooklyn (2-5) vs #5 Notre Dame (6-1)
St. Francis Brooklyn (2-5) at #5 Notre Dame (6-1)
Date: December 3rd
Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion
TV: ACC Network Extra or Watch ESPN
QUICK FACTS
- This will be the third time the two programs have met. Notre Dame is 2-0 against the Terriers.
- Notre Dame most recently beat St. Francis in 1998 by a score of 99-88.
- St. Francis is one original Division-I programs that have never made the NCAA Tournament.
- Bonzie Colson has 126 blocked shots in his career.
- Bonzie Colson has also scored in double figures in 24 straight games.
- TJ Gibbs leads the ACC in assist-to-turnover ration at 3.67.
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Matt Farrell | 16.4 | 2.1 | 4.7 |
| TJ Gibbs | 14.9 | 2.3 | 3.1 |
| Rex Pflueger | 7.4 | 4.3 | 2.4 |
| Bonzie Colson | 19.6 | 9.9 | 1.4 |
| Martinas Geben | 8.0 | 4.9 | 1.3 |
St. Francis Brooklyn
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Glenn Sanabria | 7.7 | 2.3 | 1.3 |
| Jalen Jordan | 11.3 | 2.3 | 0.5 |
| Rasheem Dunn | 14.2 | 4.0 | 2.0 |
| Jagos Lasic | 2.7 | 3.3 | 0.3 |
| Joshua Nurse | 0.8 | 1.8 | 0.8 |
National Rankings
| Category | Notre Dame | St. Francis Brooklyn |
| Scoring Offense | 81.4 (78) | 72.4 (231) |
| Scoring Defense | 63.1 (39) | 76.1 (255) |
| Rebound Margin | 1.6 (178) | -6.7 (330) |
| Assist Per Game | 15.3 (114) | 10.9 (331) |
| FG% Offense | 51.6% (12) | 40.9% (309) |
| FG% Defense | 39.7% (64) | 43.9% (208) |
| Three-Pointers Per Game | 8.9 (89) | 7.7 (169) |
| Three-Point Percentage | 43.4% (11) | 29.0% (321) |
| Free-Throw Percentage | 74.1% (81) | 71.0% (156) |
| Assist-Turnover Ratio | 1.73 (6) | 0.88 (259) |
Preview
Notre Dame lost a tough one on Thursday to Michigan State, but Sunday will provide a chance to get back on track against St. Francis Brooklyn. The Terriers aren't a good basketball team and the Irish should be able to do anything they want on Sunday afternoon.
I have written in this section many times about building the confidence of Martinas Geben, but this time I am going to say Nik Djogo is the guy I want to see on the floor more on Sunday. The game will be a blowout and the redshirt freshman on the floor early could pay off down the line.
Notre Dame was challenged with size and athleticism at Michigan State. Djogo has the size and athleticism to give opponents problems at 6-foot-7. He is the player Notre Dame doesn't get a ton of and while he might not be ready for huge minutes, Brey stealing minutes in games like this can expedite his development.
The Irish need to improve transition defense and they can establish good habits today, but at the same time, St. Francis isn't going to push the ball like Michigan State or even Indiana.
All in all, this will be a good game to get the young guys some minutes and pad Bonzie Colson's stats as the Terriers are terrible at rebounding the basketball.
Prediction: Notre Dame 91 St. Francis 68