Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/915282
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com JANUARY 2018 47 MEN'S BASKETBALL began his head coaching career. "We've looked at some things, and the staff has talked about playing a lot faster to get into a groove," Farrell explained. "Other than that, we're not really worried about us. We're a con- fident group. "We've had stretches we looked re- ally good, and we've had stretches we looked really bad — which is normal this time of year." For Brey, getting more production out of the bench could be part of the solution as well. "John Mooney can rebound, and he's shown that. He also has the abil- ity to stretch and make a shot," Brey explained. "That's intriguing as well. … He's gotten better defensively. "We don't win Maui without D.J. Harvey. He was pretty solid there. … We have to get him in gear. "Elijah Burns and Austin Torres aren't off the radar, or Nik Djogo. Nik is a guy I want to get in a white shirt [in practice, indicating he's on the top team] … and examine that as well." Notre Dame pushed the tempo against the Blue Hens to earn a 92-68 win. The Irish performed well offen- sively in both halves, shooting 50.0 percent in the opening 20 minutes and 62.5 percent in the second half, in- cluding 56.5 percent from three-point range. Farrell (24) and sophomore guard T.J. Gibbs (21) combined for 45 points, which Brey attributed to the emphasis on tempo. "Those two guys have to score for us," Brey said. "Playing a little bit faster and pushing the ball down the court a little more gets them some looks early, and we don't have to play against a set defense. "We haven't shot it great since we got back from Maui. Maybe we're breaking the ice again." It was just one game for the Irish in terms of putting together a full 40 minutes of offense, but Brey and company hope it is a sign of things to come as the Irish inch closer to ACC play. ✦ 2017-18 NOTRE DAME MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Oct. 20 Holy Cross College! W, 97-57 Nov. 3 Bethel College! W, 88-59 Nov. 7 Cardinal Stritch! W, 90-46 Nov. 11 at DePaul W, 72-58 Nov. 13 Mount St. Mary's+ W, 88-62 Nov. 16 Chicago State W, 105-66 Nov. 20 vs. Chaminade# W, 83-56 Nov. 21 vs. LSU# W, 92-53 Nov. 22 vs. Wichita State# W, 67-66 Nov. 30 at Michigan State& L, 81-63 Dec. 3 St. Francis Brooklyn W, 71-53 Dec. 5 Ball State L, 80-77 Dec. 9 at Delaware W, 92-68 Dec. 16 vs. Indiana^ 2:30 p.m. Dec. 19 Dartmouth (ESPN2) 7 p.m. Dec. 21 SE Louisiana (ACCNE) 7 p.m. Dec. 30 Georgia Tech* (ESPN2) 2 p.m. Jan. 3 NC State* (ACCN) 9 p.m. Jan. 6 at Syracuse* (ESPN/2) 3:15 p.m. Jan. 10 at Georgia Tech* (ESPNU) 7 p.m. Jan. 13 North Carolina* (ESPN/2) 6 p.m. Jan. 16 Louisville* (ESPN2) 7 p.m. Jan. 20 at Clemson* (ESPN/2) 4 p.m. Jan. 27 Virginia Tech* (ESPN2) 8 p.m. Jan. 29 at Duke* (ESPN) 7 p.m. Feb. 3 at NC State* (ESPN/2) 12 p.m. Feb. 6 Boston College* (ACCN) 8 p.m. Feb. 10 Florida State* (ESPN/2) 4 p.m. Feb. 12 at North Carolina* (ESPN) 7 p.m. Feb. 17 at Boston College* (ACCN) 4 p.m. Feb. 19 Miami (Fla.)* (ESPN) 7 p.m. Feb. 24 at Wake Forest* (ACCN) 3 p.m. Feb. 28 Pittsburgh* (ESPNU) 7 p.m. March 3 at Virginia* (ACCN) 4 p.m. March 6-10 ACC Tournament$ TBA ! Exhibition; + Maui Jim Maui Invitational regional matchup; # Maui Jim Maui Invitational at Lahaina, Hawai'i; & ACC-Big Ten Challenge; ^ Crossroads Classic at Indianapolis; * ACC game; $ at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.; ACCN — ACC Network; ACCNE — ACC Network Extra Three-Point Play 1. Mike Brey Closing In On Digger Phelps — The win over Delaware was Brey's 390th win at Notre Dame, which put him just three shy of tying Phelps (393) for the most in school history. The earliest Brey could sur- pass Phelps would be Dec. 30, against Geor- gia Tech, at home in the team's ACC opener, if the Irish defeat Indiana (Dec. 16), Dart- mouth (Dec. 19) and Southeastern Louisiana (Dec. 21). If Notre Dame were to drop one of those four, Brey could still eclipse the mark against North Carolina State on Jan. 3 South Bend. The Irish then would hit the road for two games (Syracuse and Georgia Tech) . 2. Big Three — Notre Dame knew what it would get from seniors Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell heading into the 2017-18 sea- son. The unknown was who would comple- ment the star duo. Sophomore guard T.J. Gibbs appears to be that guy. Through Dec. 9, Gibbs was averaging 14.3 points per game, while shooting 48.9 percent from the field, complementing Colson's 19.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game and Far- rell's 16.5 points and 5.2 assists per contest. The Irish needed another capable option on offense to keep teams from putting their entire focus on Colson and Farrell. Gibbs has proven he can hold his own offensively with his increased role this season. 3. Geben Emerging — After averaging just 3.1 points and 3.4 rebounds as a junior, big man Martinas Geben has made a jump during the early stages of his final season. Through Dec. 9, he was fourth on the team in scoring (9.0 points per game) and second in rebounds (6.1 per game). During a six-game stretch from Nov. 21-Dec. 9, he averaged 10.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest, and posted his first career double-double against St. Francis Brooklyn (14 points and 10 rebounds). Another consistent post presence to go with Colson is a welcomed addition to the Irish offense. — Corey Bodden Through 10 games, senior big man Martinas Geben ranked fourth on the team in scoring (9.0 points per game) and was second in rebounding (6.1 caroms per contest). PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN