NOTRE DAME MEN’S BASKETBALL
SEC/ACC Challenge
No rest for the weary. Or the wounded.
Eleven days ago, Notre Dame men’s basketball was living right, or so we thought. The Irish started 4-0, including a convincing 21-point win at Georgetown. Then a home loss to Elon happened, and this team hasn’t been the same.
Sophomore guard Markus Burton was hurt in the opening minutes of the first game of the Player Era Festival in Las Vegas. An overtime loss to Rutgers followed. Losses to Houston and Creighton did too. The Irish have lost four straight. After barely enough time back home to do laundry, they’re back on the road for the annual SEC/ACC Challenge.
When does Tuesday’s game between Notre Dame and Georgia begin? Is it on TV? Are tickets available?
☘ WHO: Notre Dame (4-4) vs Georgia (7-1)
☘ WHERE: Stegman Coliseum (10,523), Athens, Georgia
☘ WHEN: Tuesday at 7 p.m.
☘ TV: ESPNU.
☘ RADIO: WSBT (960 AM, 96.1 FM).
☘ ONLINE: Follow every Notre Dame game with live updates from Tribune beat writer Tom Noie at X (formerly Twitter) at twitter.com/tnoieNDI.
Three pressing questions for Notre Dame
☘ When will Markus Burton return?
☘ What has happened to the defensive identity?
☘ How bad might this get before it gets better?
Scouting the Bulldogs
Dakota Leffew scored 16 points with eight assists and six players scored double figures in Georgia’s 102-56 home win Saturday over Jacksonville State. Silas Demay and Tyrin Lawrence each added 14 points as the Bulldogs scored 100 points for the first time since February 8, 2020 against Alabama. … Georgia lost to Marquette, 80-69, on November 23 in the Bahamas. It has wins over Georgia Tech and St. John’s. … Georgia returned only three players, all starters, to a team that finished 20-17, 6-12 and tied for 11th in the Southeastern Conference last season. … In a vote of national and SEC media, the Bulldogs were picked this preseason to finish 12th in the 16-team SEC. … This is the second of six straight games in either Athens or Atlanta for the Bulldogs, who don’t play a true road game until the SEC opener January 4 at Mississippi.
By the Numbers
3: Third-year head coach Mike White, son of former Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White, has won Coach of the Year honors in three leagues — Western Athletic Conference, Conference USA, SEC.
4: The Bulldogs rank fourth nationally in rebounding margin (+13.3) and have had rebounding games of (+25) Alabama A&M and (+30) Texas Southern
22: Georgia has won 22 consecutive non-conference home games since its last loss, December 29, 2022, to Gardner Webb.
2014-15: Last time Georgia took part in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs haven’t made it out of the first weekend since 1995-96.
Keep an eye on …
Freshman power forward Asa Newell was the nation’s No. 12 ranked prospect coming out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida where he was a teammate last season of Irish freshman guard Cole Certa. Newell is the highest ranked recruit to play at Georgia since Anthony Edwards, the No. 4 prospect, in 2019.
The 6-foot-11, 220-pound Newell, who received preseason votes for SEC player of the year, scored 26 points in his college debut against Tennessee Tech, which tied UGA great Dominique Wilkins for most points by a freshman in his first game — against Troy State on November 22, 1979.
Newell leads the Bulldogs in scoring (15.4) and rebounding (6.1) in 26.7 minutes per game. He’s shooting .564 percent from the field, .176 percent from 3 and .583 percent from the foul line.
Quoting the Bulldogs
“The assist-to-turnover-ratio, the way the ball moved, and the connection offensively was at an all-time high. We grew in that area.” — Head coach Mike White after Georgia had 24 assists and 12 turnovers in Saturday’s victory over Jacksonville
Series history
Tied 2-2 with all four meetings at neutral sites — Atlanta (1994, 2022), Kansas City, Missouri (2011) and Bay Lake, Florida (Disney World), the last Irish win, 89-83, in double overtime on November 25, 2010. The teams last met at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on December 18, 2022, a 77-62 Georgia win.
Scouting the Irish
Sophomore guard Markus Burton is still sidelined indefinitely with a right knee injury suffered on November 26 against Rutgers. Burton leads the Irish in scoring (18.2), assists (4.3) and steals (1.3). He’s also averaging a career best 4.5 rebounds a game. … Tae Davis and Braeden Shrewsberry each scored 17 points and Matt Allocco added 12 in Saturday’s 80-76 loss to Creighton in the seventh-place game of the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. Notre Dame led by as many as one point and trailed by as many as 17. … Notre Dame ranks 60th nationally (355 teams) in field goal percentage (.482) and 235th in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.338). … The Irish have allowed at least 80 points in three of their last four games. … Tuesday ends a run of five games in 12 days, including four away from home.
By the Numbers
0-1: Notre Dame’s record in SEC/ACC Challenges after last year’s loss at South Carolina
11: After scoring two points in two games with four DNP-CDs (did not play, coach’s decision) the first seven games, freshman forward Garrett Sundra had 11 points in 11 minutes Saturday against Creighton.
12-12-2020: Last time Notre Dame won at an SEC school — 64-63 at Kentucky.
27.2: Percentage from 3 the last three games for Irish sophomore guard Braeden Shrewsberry, who finished 9-of-33 from 3 in Las Vegas.
Keep an eye on …
Somebody had to score/do more when Burton went down, a responsibility that junior small forward Tae Davis has embraced. After eight points against North Dakota and five against Elon last month, Davis had 15 points and six rebounds, 22 points and eight rebounds and 17 points and two rebounds in the three games in Las Vegas.
The 6-9, 215-pounder is averaging career bests for points (14.5), rebounds (5.4) and minutes (26.6).
Quoting the Irish
“We need to continue to find different ways to win, whether that’s a high-scoring affair or whether it’s a knock-down-drag-out game. I think we can kind of do both.” — Irish head coach Micah Shrewsberry
Looking ahead
Notre Dame returns home for the first time in 15 days to open Atlantic Coast Conference play against Syracuse (4-2) on Saturday at noon (The CW). The Orange are one of three repeat opponents (Boston College, Georgia Tech) this season.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com
