Blue and Gold Illustrated

March 2021

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2021 75 MEN'S BASKETBALL best mark against a high-major team this year. All but seven of the at- tempts were at the rim or from three- point range. But there was one more old buga- boo that resurfaced and made the stout shooting percentage lose some of its luster. Notre Dame committed nine turnovers in the second half, which equated to a 26.5 percent turn- over rate. It took the oomph out of 52 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes. The Irish scored only 30 points de- spite making more than half their shots in that second stanza. Giv- ing away the ball every fourth time down the floor will do that. So will a 2-of-9 second-half shooting perfor- mance from junior point guard Pren- tiss Hubb within his 15-point, 10-as- sist game. Notre Dame had one field goal and four points in the final 6:03. Brey's overall explanation for the second half was also an unwelcomed blast from the past. "They out-athleted us," Brey said. "It has happened a bunch to us this season. We're not going to all of a sudden get more athletic this sea- son." Athleticism shortcomings do not, though, explain how ACC steals leader Jose Alvarado snuck up on unaware Notre Dame players for six takeaways. Or how the Irish still managed to hang 50 points in the first half. Or how a final possession with a chance to tie or win didn't even pro- duce a shot attempt. Or some suspect decision-making on offense down the stretch. Or how Laszewski and fifth-year senior forward Juwan Dur- ham were a combined 15 of 16 from two-point range. All told, Notre Dame had enough juice to win and put more fuel in an- other patented second-half run. It also had enough resurgences of old diseases, though, to make the fol- lowing days about regrouping in- stead. ✦ Junior point guard Prentiss Hubb led the Irish with 101 assists through the season's first 17 games and also ranked second with 14.5 points per contest. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS 2020-21 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE (as of. Feb. 9) 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# L, 90-85 Dec. 12 at Kentucky W, 64-63 Dec. 16 Duke* L, 75-65 Dec. 19 vs. Purdue^ L, 88-78 Dec. 23 Bellarmine W, 81-70 Dec. 30 Virginia* L, 66-57 Jan. 2 at North Carolina* L, 66-65 Jan. 10 at Virginia Tech* L, 77-63 Jan. 13 at Virginia* L, 80-68 Jan. 16 Boston College* W, 80-70 Jan. 24 at Miami* W, 73-59 Jan. 27 Virginia Tech* L, 62-51 Jan. 30 at Pittsburgh* W, 84-58 Feb. 2 Wake Forest* W, 79-58 Feb. 6 at Georgia Tech* L, 82-80 Feb. 9 at Duke* (ESPN/2) 4:30 p.m. Feb. 14 Miami* (ACCN) 6 p.m. Feb. 17 Clemson* (RSN) 7 p.m. Feb. 20 at Syracuse* (ACCN) 2 p.m. Feb. 23 at Louisville* (ACCN) 7 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$ All times and dates subject to change. # ACC/Big Ten Challenge; * ACC game; ^ Crossroads Classic at Indianapolis; $ at Greensboro, N.C. Three-Point Play 1. Bombs Away Through Feb. 7, Notre Dame ranked 15th nationally in three-point accuracy with a 38.7 percent figure. That number is buoyed by a six-game stretch where the Irish shot 57 of 131 from beyond the arc (43.5 percent). Notre Dame has six players in its seven-man rotation who regularly shoot three-pointers, and each was making them at a 35-percent clip or higher. 2. Firsts And Lasts Notre Dame leads the country in lowest op- ponent free throw rate (free throw attempts divided by field goal attempts) at 17.7 percent. On the other hand, though, the Irish force turnovers at the second-lowest rate nationally — 12.7 percent of possessions — just ahead of Howard. 3. Helping Hand Junior point guard Prentiss Hubb had notched 10 assists in three of his last six games and at least nine assists in five of his last six as of Feb. 7. He has also committed four or more turnovers in three of those games. — Patrick Engel

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