Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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sume his past roles when he returned to Notre Dame this season, Jackson's future was murky. He struggled as a freshman transitioning from Northern Indiana high school hoops to the chal- lenges the ACC presents, but thus far last year could not feel further away for him. "He sets the tone defensively, and [against Florida State] I thought his ball pressure in the second half eventually took its toll on them," Brey said. "He does it so unselfishly and it's exhaust- ing. It's really important for our team and he's such a key at the point of at- tack. "It's a workout. Eventually you get tired of handling the ball against him." Led by Grant's 4.06 assist-to-turnover ratio — 11th best in the land through Dec. 15 — Notre Dame ranked third na- tionally with a 1.46 mark. Brey's teams typically rank among the nation's elite in that category when resembling an NCAA Tournament team, and this year is no different due to the play of Grant and Jackson. Additionally, Notre Dame ranked No. 1 in the country in field goal ac- curacy at 55.7 percent. "You have to be a great passing team," Brey said of that achievement. "You really have to be able to pass the ball and have a number of guys who make good decisions with the ball. We have that and a willing passing team. "I love my guards. I think I've got the best backcourt in the country. They're both really quick and athletic. They have the ability to drive it and physi- cally drive at your jugular, and when they meet big guys, they can draw fouls because they're so strong. It used to be Jerian in our program because it really wasn't Eric Atkins. Now we have two guys." ✦ 2014-15 NOTRE DAME MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Nov. 14 Binghamton^ W, 82-39 Nov. 16 Navy^ W, 92-53 Nov. 19 Coppin State W, 104-67 Nov. 22 vs. Massachusetts* W, 81-68 Nov. 23 vs. Providence* L, 75-74 Nov. 26 Grambling State W, 81-54 Nov. 29 Chicago State W, 90-42 Dec. 3 Michigan State# W, 79-78 (OT) Dec. 6 Fairleigh Dickinson W, 75-57 Dec. 9 Mount St. Mary's W, 93-67 Dec. 13 Florida State W, 83-63 Dec. 20 vs. Purdue% (Big Ten Net.) 5:15 p.m. Dec. 22 Northern Illinois (ESPN3) 7 p.m. Dec. 30 Hartford (ESPN3) 7 p.m. Jan. 3 Georgia Tech (ACCN) 2:30 p.m. Jan. 5 at North Carolina (ESPN/2) 7 p.m. Jan. 10 Virginia (ESPN2) 6 p.m. Jan. 14 at Georgia Tech (RSN) 7 p.m. Jan. 17 Miami (ESPN/2) 2 p.m. Jan. 22 at Virginia Tech (RSN) 7 p.m. Jan. 25 at N.C. State (ESPNU) 6:30 p.m. Jan. 28 Duke (ESPN2) 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31 at Pittsburgh (ACCN) 12 p.m. Feb. 4 Boston College (RSN) 7 p.m. Feb. 7 at Duke (CBS) 1 p.m. Feb. 10 at Clemson (ESPN2) 7 p.m. Feb. 17 Wake Forest (ESPNU) 7 p.m. Feb. 21 at Boston College (RSN) 4 p.m. Feb. 24 Syracuse (ACCN) 8 p.m. March 4 at Louisville (ESPN2) 7 p.m. March 7 Clemson (ACCN/RSN) 4 p.m. March 10-14 ACC Tournament$ TBA ^ Hall of Fame Tipoff Tournament, preliminary rounds at campus sites; * Hall of Fame Tipoff Tournament at Un- casville, Conn.; # ACC-Big Ten Challenge; % Crossroads Classic at Indianapolis; $ at Greensboro, N.C.