Game Thread/Preview: Notre Dame (13-8, 3-5) at No. 4 Duke (18-3, 6-3)
Notre Dame (13-8, 3-5) at No. 4 Duke (18-3, 6-3)
Date: January 29th
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina
TV: ESPN
QUICK FACTS
- Duke leads the all-time series 22-7.
- Mike Brey is 5-4 against Duke since arriving at Notre Dame and the only former Duke assistant to beat Mike Krzyzewski.
- TJ Gibbs has scored at least 20 points six times this season.
- John Mooney set career highs with 15 points and 11 boards on Saturday.
- Notre Dame will be without Bonzie Colson, Matt Farrell and DJ Harvey , who account for 42.9 poins per game.
- Martinas Geben ranks second in ACC in rebounds per game in conference play with 10.6.
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| TJ Gibbs | 15.4 | 2.9 | 3.3 |
| Nik Djogo | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.6 |
| Rex Pflueger | 8.7 | 4.3 | 2.9 |
| John Mooney | 5.2 | 3.9 | 0.4 |
| Martinas Geben | 10. | 8.1 | 1.1 |
Duke
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Trevon Duval | 11.2 | 2.1 | 6.1 |
| Grayson Allen | 14.7 | 3.6 | 4.3 |
| Gary Trent Jr. | 14.4 | 4.1 | 1.8 |
| Marvin Bagley III | 22.0 | 11.6 | 1.5 |
| Wendell Carter Jr. | 14.3 | 9.4 | 2.0 |
National Rankings
| Category | Notre Dame | Duke |
| Scoring Offense | 76.6 (109) | 90.3 (2) |
| Scoring Defense | 65.9 (39) | 72.3 (175) |
| Rebound Margin | 3.9 (72) | 10.5 (4) |
| Assist Per Game | 14.2 (144) | 19.0 (4) |
| FG% Offense | 45.3% (151) | 50.9% (8) |
| FG% Defense | 41.2% (54) | 40.9% (43) |
| Three-Pointers Per Game | 8.3 (113) | 8.3 (115) |
| Three-Point Percentage | 37.0% (94) | 37.7% (71) |
| Free-Throw Percentage | 76.1% (31) | 68.7% (251) |
| Assist-Turnover Ratio | 1.37 (28) | 1.56 (9) |
Preview
It's likely going to get ugly on Monday night for Mike Brey's seven-man rotation as Notre Dame heads to Cameron Indoor.
Notre Dame has turned games into ugly slugfests as they battled injuries during the month of January, but even turning Monday's game into an ugly game might be a tall task.
If the Irish were healthy, they would struggle to contain Marvin Bagley III, who in my opinion, is he best player in college basketball this year. Bagley is a special talent and stands out against some Duke's greatest players in program history.
The Irish will have a very tough time containing Bagley but his supporting cast is also very good. Notre Dame's problems of scoring the basketball will be highlighted tonight as they face one of the nation's highest-scoring teams.
Sophomore forward John Mooney has played well the last two games and continuing his development will be key. It will be interesting to see how Mooney does adapt to playing at a much faster pace against elite athletes on Monday.
Notre Dame will need to hit the three-ball on Monday if it hopes to stay in the game. The Irish have shot the ball well from beyond the arc but it will be crucial in this game to hit threes.
I would also expect Brey to slow down the game when he can as the Irish can't get into a track meet, especially with a seven-man rotation where you really can't expect points from the two reserves.
Prediction: Duke 87 Notre Dame 62