Notre Dame men’s basketball closed out non-conference play with a victory on Dec 22 against Le Moyne. Now, on the final day on 2024, the Fighting Irish will ring in the new year from Atlanta as they take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Photo via Notre Dame Athletics
Riding a three-game win streak that dates back to Dec. 7 against Syracuse in the first ACC game of the season, the Irish are playing the best basketball of the season. They’ve won by an average of 15.3 points over the win streak averaging 79 points per game.
These offensive showings have been put on the backs of sophomore guard Braeden Shrewsberry and junior forward Tae Davis, who are experiencing the best seasons of their college careers.
Shrewsberry, who played his season low in minutes against Le Moyne with 28, is averaging 20.3 PPG over the last three games, including a season-high 25 points against Syracuse. In his 37 minutes against the Orange, he shot 8-for-15 from the field including an impressive 6-for-11 from three-point range, the most he’s hit in a game this season. Although the sample size is small, Shrewsberry has proven he can step up in conference play in the absence of sophomore guard Markus Burton.
Davis, an Indianapolis native, is another player that has stepped up in a massive way this season. The 6’9” forward has seen improvements in nearly every category, most notably a 6.6 increase in PPG. In his second season in South Bend, Davis is averaging 15.8 PPG, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists.
Looking at the other side, the Yellow Jackets are similar to the Irish on offense. Both teams are in the bottom half of the conference in points per game and both stand in the top ten in three-point percentage. They are led by senior guard Lance Terry who is averaging 15.4 PPG in 13 games played, while shooting 45.1% from the field. He’s one of four players on the Georgia Tech roster with a three-point percentage above 40%, shooting an impressive 41.2% from deep.
Terry, a College Park, Georgia native is coming off a 22-point performance against Alabama A&M this past Saturday after scoring just seven points against fifth-ranked Duke. It was his fourth 20-point outing of the young season as the Yellow Jackets prepare for their third ACC game of the season.
In two conference games so far, the Jackets are 0-2 with losses coming to North Carolina on Dec. 7 and Duke on Dec. 21. In those two games, they are averaging just 60.5 PPG and are losing by an average of 14.5 points. Terry has shot a combined 8-for-28 in those two contests, scoring just 29 points. Thus far, the Yellow Jackets have struggled in their early ACC matchups getting the offense rolling, which is an area the Irish should attack.
One player that has performed well in early conference play is 6’9” forward Baye Ndongo. The sophomore from Dakar, Senegal is averaging 16.5 PPG in the Jackets first two ACC meetings, shooting 13-for-24 from the field. As a rebounder, Ndongo has shown flashes, however remains inconsistent in that area. On the season, Ndongo is averaging 7.1 rebounds per game but was held at bay against the Blue Devils with just one rebound in 31 minutes of play. Duke ended the game out-rebounding Georgia Tech 36-to-25 and won the game by 26 points. While there will be other stat categories to win, the rebounding game is one Notre Dame must win.
Senior guard Javian McCollum, who is one his third team in four years of college, is the biggest threat to the Irish from three. In his first season with the Jackets, McCollum is shooting an average of four threes per game and knocks down 41.7% of those.
After missing four games with a concussion that he suffered on Nov. 23, McCollum has needed time to get settled back in. He started the season scoring in double-figures in the first four games of the season, averaging 31.3 minutes per game. In his first four games back, he’s averaging just 17.8 minutes per game and a measly eight points. He’s coming off one of his better performances of the season against Alabama A&M where he scored 18 points on 5-for-11 shooting in 16 minutes of play. He also knocked down three threes in six attempts.
For Notre Dame, it’s going to come down to the rebounding numbers and getting the Davis-Shrewsberry tandem rolling early. Against an offense that is averaging 76.1 PPG, the Irish will have to limit them to one shot per possession and see Shrewsberry and Davis finish with 20 points. Allowing the supporting cast to chip in is going to be a point of emphasis as well, however it starts at the top.
It's a great chance for the Irish to close out the year on a high note and stay undefeated in conference play. With North Carolina coming to town on Jan. 4, it will be huge to enter that game on a four-game win streak with things rolling in Notre Dame’s direction.
Click to Join! - https://www.facebook.com/groups/legionoftheleprechaun
Comments