Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/621849
MEN'S BASKETBALL Three-Point Play With several weeks left in the season, Notre Dame still has plenty of time to improve by the time the postseason rolls around. Here are three areas the Irish can focus on to improve as they navigate the challenging ACC waters. 1. Defending the three-point arc — Maybe the biggest issue facing Notre Dame's 167th-ranked defense nationally is guarding the three-point line. Teams shot 40.3 percent from long distance against the Irish through Dec. 28, which ranked 329th nationally. Opponents were scoring 37.5 percent of their points from behind the arc, which was the 11th highest rate in the country. Allowing that high of a scoring rate from three-point range places a lot of pressure on Notre Dame's offense to avoid cold spells. The Irish might be having a highly efficient night from two- point range, but if the opposing team goes back to the other end and is regularly making threes, there's little room for error. There is good news, though. According to a (somewhat surprising) study published on Kenpom. com, two-point percentage defense actually predicts future three-point percentage defense better than a team's current three-point percentage defense. And Notre Dame ranks a much better 56th nationally in defending twos, holding teams to a 43.8 percent. So could a regress to the mean be coming for Notre Dame's three-point defense? We'll see. 2. Getting to the charity stripe — Notre Dame's offense is still highly efficient this season, posting 1.18 points per possession against the average defense — fourth best nationally. If there is an area for improvement, though, it's earning free throws. The Irish only averaged 18.7 free throw attempts per game through Dec. 28, which ranked 282nd nationally. As noted above, scoring just 1.0 points per possession is usually a pretty good thing. That makes the free throw a really strong penalty, because even the poorest shooters can usually make 1 of 2. Easily the top priority for Mike Brey's team is improving the defense, because there are not many flaws on the offense. But if they want to eye an area to strive for offensively, more aggressive play that forces opponents to put the Irish on the stripe is a good place to start. 3. Strong Outings From Demetrius Jackson — The junior point guard is unquestionably the team's leader and also its most talented player. Should he decide to leave school early, many NBA mock draft websites project Jackson to be selected in the lottery of the 2016 draft. And Jackson has backed up those projections with outstanding play this year, leading the team in minutes (34.8), points (16.9) and assists (5.0) per game through Dec. 28. But according to Kenpom.com's individual player offensive rating system, Jackson's three worst games on offense came against Indiana Dec. 19, Alabama Nov. 29 and Monmouth Nov. 26. All three of those contests resulted in Irish losses. Nobody is questioning the junior's productivity or leadership, but so far this year, there's a strong correlation between his offensive play and the Irish winning or losing. Focusing on keeping him fresh — including maybe some rest in Notre Dame's blowout games — could be key for the long stretch ahead. — Jordan Wells