Game Preview: Notre Dame (13-3, 3-0) at Georgia Tech (8-7, 1-1)
Notre Dame (13-3, 3-0) at Georgia Tech (8-7, 1-1)
Date: January 10th
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: McCamish Pavilion, Atlanta, Georgia.
TV: ESPNU
QUICK FACTS
- Notre Dame is 1-3 at McCamish Pavilion in ACC play, with all three losses coming by a total of 8 points.
- The Irish beat the Yellow Jackets 68-59 just 11 days ago at Purcell Pavilion.
- Notre Dame leads the NCAA in personal fouls committed per game, averaging just 12.9 per contest.
- Sophomore T.J. Gibbs has scored 20-or-more points five times this season
- Notre Dame has 175 in the last four games, which is the most in a four-game stretch since 2010-11.
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| TJ Gibbs | 14.8 | 2.8 | 2.9 |
| Rex Pflueger | 9.5 | 4.6 | 2.6 |
| DJ Harvey | 5.8 | 2.7 | 0.5 |
| Austin Torres | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.2 |
| Martinas Geben | 8.6 | 7.3 | 1.3 |
Georgia Tech
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Jose Alvarado | 13.6 | 4.3 | 3.1 |
| Josh Okogie | 20.0 | 5.7 | 1.0 |
| Brandon Alston | 6.1 | 2.1 | 1.7 |
| Moses Wright | 4.1 | 3.3 | 0.6 |
| Ben Lammers | 12.3 | 8.7 | 1.3 |
National Rankings
| Category | Notre Dame | Georgia Tech |
| Scoring Offense | 79.8 (67) | 66.9 (316) |
| Scoring Defense | 64.1 (27) | 63.9 (25) |
| Rebound Margin | 3.1 (108) | 1.9 (152) |
| Assist Per Game | 14.4 (143) | 12.3 (282) |
| FG% Offense | 48.1% (54) | 43.1% (262) |
| FG% Defense | 39.8% (35) | 40.7% (61) |
| Three-Pointers Per Game | 8.1 (142) | 4.7 (345) |
| Three-Point Percentage | 39.0% (43) | 32.1% (293) |
| Free-Throw Percentage | 76.7% (25) | 71.0% (175) |
| Assist-Turnover Ratio | 1.49 (16) | 0.98 (218) |
Preview
Notre Dame beat Georgia Tech 68--59 11 days ago, but this time will be different with Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell. The Irish have also failed to close the deal at McCamish Pavilion as the 1-3 record in ACC play reflects.
The good news for Notre Dame is they have a little room to breath and the pressure isn't on. The 3-0 start in conference play allows the Irish to play with house money at this point, especially with the injury situation.
Colson went off for 22 and 17 against Georgia Tech on December 30th and that production will be missed, but the Yellow Jackets will benefit from his absence when the Irish are on offense. Ben Lammers is one of the top defensive bigs in the ACC and he will be able to camp down low more and will make finishing at the rim a little tougher.
When you combine Colson with the lack of offense from Austin Torres, Notre Dame's perimeter game will need to have a big night to give the Irish a shot.
In the first matchup, Notre Dame made life tough on Lammers as he went 5-of-18 from the field, but also held Josh Okogie to 5-of-14 from the field. To ask the Irish to do that again will be tough, but slowing down one of Georgia Tech's stars is essential to leaving Atlanta with a win.
Notre Dame is a confident team right now and getting off to a quick start will be crucial on Wednesday night. Despite playing with house money, Notre Dame can't make a habit of struggling in the first half as they did at Syracuse on Saturday as comebacks like that are exhausting and already being short-handed, the last thing Notre Dame needs to do is wear themselves out more.
I'd try to get DJ Harvey going on offense early and maybe a few post entries to Martinas Geben to see if he can draw some early fouls on Lammers. On defense, I think this might be a game where Mike Brey uses a zone defense as Georgia Tech doesn't shoot the three-ball much and with little success when they do.
In the end, I do think Okgoie will be too much for the Irish and the ability to create his own shot will be valuable in this one as the Irish don't have a player who can do that in crunch time.
Prediction: Georgia Tech 71 Notre Dame 66