Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1316443
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com DEC. 19, 2020 47 MEN'S BASKETBALL days off its initial two-week quar- antine recommendation for anyone exposed to the virus should help. Per Stadium's Jeff Goodman, several teams who were paused for 14 days due to positive tests within Tier 1 personnel (players, coaches, staff) lowered their quarantine period to 10 days on the heels of the CDC's amendment. The ACC will also use GPS tech- nology in conference games for more precise contact tracing to help avoid the quarantining of entire rosters. "We're ready to roll with the punches," Goodwin said. "We just have to stay ready. At any given time, things can change." GAME PRESSURE A GOOD THING Ideally, Brey would have liked a more comfortable margin against Detroit Mercy, but in this context, he was happy to see Notre Dame do everything necessary after it fell be- hind 63-62. Heading into the meat of the schedule having faced some late- game stress is okay with him, too. Notre Dame needed to make big shots late. It did — with help from a few contributors. Goodwin supplied a go-ahead layup with 5:39 to go. Ju- nior guard Cormac Ryan converted a crucial three-pointer on the ensuing possession to take a four-point lead, and fifth-year senior Juwan Dur- ham's layup pushed the advantage to seven. Junior guard Prentiss Hubb assisted on Ryan and Durham's buckets. Three scores. Three straight posses- sions. Three different players, plus the point guard and team leader set- ting two of them up. "To win a hard game and to have to do some stuff, we can build on it," Brey said. And on the other end, the Irish needed to get stops. After Antoine Davis's jumper put Detroit Mercy ahead 63-62 with 5:53 remaining, Notre Dame didn't allow another point until Davis scored again with 55 seconds left. Davis, a microwave scorer with a career 25.2 scoring aver- age entering this year, gave the Titans some juice with his go-ahead fade- away and slapped the floor on his way back down the court. Notre Dame proved capable of meeting that energy level. Brey pointed to Ryan in particular as an energizer. The Stanford transfer took two charges, made a pair of threes and ended with 12 points in 36 minutes. He committed no fouls or turnovers, and had six assists. When he caught Hubb's pass on the right wing, he rose up and let one fly. It was good all the way. "You can't coach that," Brey said. "There's a fearlessness to want to put a dagger in and give us a two-posses- sion lead." If Notre Dame can pick one trait to possess throughout this assuredly topsy-turvy year, fearlessness is a good place to start. ✦ Three-Point Play 1. Tony Sanders Jr. Gets His Chance Notre Dame played Detroit Mercy with seven available scholarship players due to an ankle issue that sidelined fifth-year senior wing Nik Djogo. He was the first man off the bench at Michigan State. Brey, even with his habit of riding his starters to the max, knew he needed to help them with a pinch-hitter. So he opened the door for freshman wing Tony Sanders Jr. After some initial timidness, Sanders sprinted through it. He made a three-pointer in the first half as the shot clock expired and a baseline mid-range jumper in the second half for a five-point lead with 7:53 left. Both came after he initially passed up corner threes. His first play of note was a turnover when a dou- ble-team consumed him. All told, he played 14 minutes and scored five points. 2. Bench Is Short The box score says seven, but Notre Dame essentially used a six-man rotation against Detroit Mercy with Sanders as the lone bench contributor. Freshman forward Matt Zona made a two-minute appearance in the first half, but did not play in the final 20 minutes. Djogo's return is likely to bump it back to seven, though his minutes will probably cut into Sanders' time. The path to a more com- fortable eight-man rotation may rest in the NCAA's hands. Santa Clara transfer Trey Wertz is awaiting word on an eligibility waiver, and the latest news is encouraging. The Basketball Oversight Committee is expected to recom- mend to the NCAA Division I Council that all transfers be given immediate eligibility. The council meets next on Dec. 16. 3. Juwan Durham's Workload Juwan Durham has skipped any ramp-up. Or perhaps he did it all during the preseason. Either way, Durham has learned Brey will give him every chance to be a difference-maker at the five and as Notre Dame's primary post option. Durham has averaged 30.5 minutes in his first two games this year, up from 16.5 per contest in his first two seasons at Notre Dame. Highly physical and deep Michigan State over- whelmed Durham, holding him to 2-of-7 shooting and four points. He expectedly found more room against Detroit, posting 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and four blocks. If that's what Notre Dame gets more often than not, the Irish are in business. With Zona operating as a bit player, Dur- ham's main backup is Nate Laszewski shifting from the four to the five with a quartet of guards around him. — Patrick Engel 2020-21 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Nov. 28 at Michigan State L, 80-70 Dec. 6 Detroit Mercy W, 78-70 Dec. 8 Ohio State# (ESPN2) 7:30 p.m. Dec. 12 at Kentucky (CBS) 12 p.m. Dec. 16 Duke* (ESPN) 9 p.m. Dec. 19 vs. Purdue^ TBA Dec. 22 at Syracuse* (ACCN) 7 p.m. Dec. 30 Virginia* (ACCN) 6 p.m. Jan. 2 at Pittsburgh* (ACCN) 2 p.m. Jan. 6 Georgia Tech* (RSN) 7 p.m. Jan. 10 at Virginia Tech* (ACCN) 6 p.m. Jan. 13 at Virginia* (ACCN) 8:30 p.m. Jan. 16 Boston College* (ACCN) 4 p.m. Jan. 18 at Howard TBA Jan. 24 at Miami* (ACCN) 6 p.m. Jan. 27 Virginia Tech* (RSN) 7 p.m. Jan. 30 at North Carolina* (ACCN) 8 p.m. Feb. 2 Wake Forest* (ACCN) 7 p.m. Feb. 6 at Georgia Tech* (ACCN) 8 p.m. Feb. 9 at Duke* (ESPN/2) 9 p.m. Feb. 14 Miami* (ACCN) 6 p.m. Feb. 17 Clemson* (RSN) 7 p.m. Feb. 23 at Louisville* (ACCN) 8 p.m. Feb. 27 at Boston College* (ACCN) 2 p.m. Mar. 3 NC State* (ACCN) 7 p.m. Mar. 6 Florida State* (ESPN/2) TBA Mar. 9-13 ACC Tournament$ # ACC/Big Ten Challenge; * ACC game; ^ Cross- roads Classic at Indianapolis; $ at Greensboro, N.C.; ACCN — ACC Network; RSN — Regional Sports Networks "Coach [Mike] Brey always says, 'Let's be tougher than the year.' There will be ups and downs. If a game gets canceled, we just come in and we practice. We do our job, go to work." JUNIOR FORWARD NATE LASZEWSKI