Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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46 NOV. 23, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED MEN'S BASKETBALL BY TODD D. BURLAGE T .J. Gibbs freely admits that last year 's basketball season was a complete disaster from both a team and a personal stand- point. But what the senior Irish shooting guard refuses to own up to is that many circumstances beyond his personal play contributed to the team's dramatic drop-off. "I didn't play well and that im- pacted the entire season," said Gibbs, accepting a disproportionate amount of blame for the 14-19 overall record and the last-place ACC finish. "I felt for him last year," head coach Mike Brey said of Gibbs. "He was stranded at times trying to do it all. It wasn't him." Injuries, transfers, a complete ros- ter overhaul and an influx of young players last season pushed Gibbs, then a junior, into the old-guy leader- ship role by default. One senior captain, Elijah Burns, left the program after four games. The other senior captain, Rex Pflueger, suffered a season-ending knee injury in mid-December, shortly before the ACC schedule hit full throttle. That essentially dropped all of the in-game leadership — and much of the statistical production — on Gibbs, who struggled with both. Gibbs managed 13.4 points a game, which was second best on the team. 2019-20 NOTRE DAME MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Nov. 6 at North Carolina* L, 76-65 Nov. 9 Robert Morris^ W, 92-57 Nov. 12 Howard^ W, 79-50 Nov. 15 Marshall^ W, 74-64 Nov. 18 Presbyterian 7 p.m. Nov. 21 Toledo^ 7 p.m. Nov. 26 Fairleigh Dickinson 7 p.m. Dec. 4 at Maryland# (ESPN/2) 7:15 p.m. Dec. 7 Boston College* (ESPN2/U) 7 p.m. Dec. 10 Detroit Mercy 7 p.m. Dec. 14 UCLA 7 p.m. Dec. 21 vs. Indiana& 2 p.m. Dec. 29 Alabama A&M 7 p.m. Jan. 4 at Syracuse* (ESPN2/U) 4 p.m. Jan. 8 at NC State* (ESPN2/U) 7 p.m. Jan. 11 Louisville* (ESPN) 2 p.m. Jan. 15 at Georgia Tech* (ACCN) 8:30 p.m. Jan. 22 Syracuse* (ESPN/2/U) 7 p.m. Jan. 25 at Florida State* (TBA) 12 p.m. Jan. 29 Wake Forest* (ACCN) 9 p.m. Feb. 1 Georgia Tech* (RSN) 12 p.m. Feb. 5 Pittsburgh* (ACCN) 6:30 p.m. Feb. 9 at Clemson* (ACCN) 6 p.m. Feb. 11 at Virginia* (ESPN2/U) 9 p.m. Feb. 15 at Duke* (TBA) 4 p.m. Feb. 17 North Carolina* (ESPN) 7 p.m. Feb. 23 Miami* (ACCN) 6 p.m. Feb. 26 at Boston College* (ACCN) 9 p.m. Feb. 29 at Wake Forest* (RSN) 4 p.m. Mar. 4 Florida State* (ESPN2/U) 9 p.m. Mar. 7 Virginia Tech* (ACCN) TBA Mar. 10-14 ACC Tournament$ (ACCN/ESPN) TBA * ACC game; ^ Men Against Breast Cancer Invi- tational; # ACC/Big Ten Challenge; & Crossroads Classic at Indianapolis; $ at Greensboro, N.C.; ACCN — ACC Network Gibbs got off to a hot start in Notre Dame's first two contests this season, averaging 17.0 points per game while shooting 50.0 percent (10 of 20) from the field and 63.6 percent (7 of 11) from three-point range. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN BOUNCING BACK Senior guard T.J. Gibbs is looking for a rebound season