Game Preview/Thread: No. 8 Hampton at No. 1 Notre Dame
No. 8 Hampton at No. 1 Notre Dame
Date: March 13
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion, Notre Dame, Ind.
TV: ESPN
QUICK FACTS
- Notre Dame and Hampton will meet for the first time on Tuesday.
- Hampton won 12 of its final 14 games.
- Notre Dame will make its 12th appearance in the NIT and is 26-11 all-time in the NIT.
- The Irish are 5-0 against MEAC teams.
- Martinas Geben led all ACC players in offensive rebounds per game during the ACC Tournament with 4.33 per game.
- Bonzie Colson averaged 16.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in the ACC Tournament.
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Matt Farrell | 16.8 | 2.5 | 5.5 |
| TJ Gibbs | 15.2 | 2.7 | 3.1 |
| Rex Pflueger | 8.3 | 4.2 | 3.1 |
| Bonzie Colson | 20.2 | 10.1 | 0.9 |
| Martinas Geben | 10.9 | 8.1 | 1.1 |
Hampton
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Malique Trent-Street | 14.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Jermaine Marrow | 18.7 | 4.9 | 5.4 |
| Kalin Fisher | 12.6 | 4.5 | 2.1 |
| Akim Mitchell | 8.1 | 4.5 | 1.5 |
| Trevond Barnes | 7.1 | 4.0 | 0.6 |
National Rankings
| Category | Notre Dame | Hampton |
| Scoring Offense | 75.0 (143) | 77.6 (72) |
| Scoring Defense | 68.7 (77) | 74.1 (223) |
| Rebound Margin | 2.1 (102) | 1.7 (120) |
| Assist Per Game | 14.4 (116) | 14.8 (93) |
| FG% Offense | 44.6% (179) | 45.2% (151) |
| FG% Defense | 43.0% (121) | 42.0% (64) |
| Three-Pointers Per Game | 8.5 (93) | 5.6 (326) |
| Three-Point Percentage | 36.6% (96) | 31.9% (323) |
| Free-Throw Percentage | 75.6 (41) | 77.7% (14) |
| Assist-Turnover Ratio | 1.46 (16) | 1.17 (102) |
Preview
Notre Dame will make its 12th appearnece in the National Invitation Tournament and the Hampton Pirates will travel to Purcell Pavilion on Tuesday night.
The Pirates have played a few Power Five programs but didn't fare well against two No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Hampton lost 96-60 to Xavier and 82-48 to Virginia.
Notre Dame should have its way with Hampton but there will be some new rules to pay attention to on Tuesday. Head coach Mike Brey admitted things could get weird adjusting to the new rules.
"I prepared them for the NIT over the last month," stated Brey. "We were very realistic about how this could go given where we were and our resumé. Kids are amazingly resilient. We’ll prepare with all these new rules, which will be funky."
In the 2018 NIT Tournament, the experimental rules will be:
• The three-point line will be extended by approximately 1 foot 8 inches to the same distance used by FIBA for international competition (22 feet 1.75 inches).
• The free throw lane will be widened from 12 feet to 16 feet, consistent with the width used by the NBA.
• The games will be divided into four 10-minute quarters as opposed to two 20-minute halves. Teams will shoot two free throws beginning with the fifth foul of each quarter.
• The shot clock will reset to 20 seconds after an offensive rebound instead of the full 30 seconds.
“It’s going to be fun," laughed Brey. "It’s going to be things that will be discussed possibly down the road. The wider lane, which I think is good. It helps to officiate the post a little more. There isn’t the banging so close to the bucket.
“The line being further out will be interesting. The four quarters is interesting. The women have done it. Everyone plays quarters but college basketball, so I’m interested in doing it. I’ve been a big fan of our 20-minute half.
“The offensive rebounds will speed up the game with the shot clock going to 20 seconds.”
To get a win, Notre Dame simply needs to play its own game. The Irish will need to establish Bonzie Colson early and often. Colson opens up the floor and will force the Pirates to make adjustments.
Martinas Geben will have a major size advantage in the post, so getting him some early touches wouldn't be a bad move by the Irish either.
This one comes down to whether or not Notre Dame wants to play.
Prediction: Notre Dame 82 Hampton 69