When you think of a top five basketball team in any conference, you often imagine a squad with an elite scorer or rebounder.
The ACC mostly follows this trend. Of the top five schools in the Atlantic Coast, four have at least one player in the conference’s top ten of either major stat. Top seeded Duke (23-4, 13-3 ACC), third seeded North Carolina (20-8, 12-5 ACC) and fifth seeded Wake Forest (21-7, 11-6 ACC) feature in both individual categories.
One team has neither.
Notre Dame (19-8, 12-4 ACC) is currently second in the league. Yet, the Fighting Irish do not have a household name in, arguably, basketball’s two biggest departments.
At the same time, the Irish have almost no glaring weaknesses.
Just by browsing the ACC team statistics, you’ll generally find Head Coach Mike Brey’s squad in the middle of the pack. A couple rare exceptions being three point makes (1st), and offensive rebounds (15th).
What does this all suggest on paper? Simple. Notre Dame is a unit that values “we”, greater than “me.” Based on the current standings, this selfless mentality has proved to be a winning one.
Syracuse (15-12, 9-7 ACC) gets a taste of this mindset tonight in South Bend. The Irish, despite the numbers, have a host of talent to watch.
Blake Wesley and Dane Goodwin have been a solid one-two punch. Both players average over 14 points per game. Wesley and Goodwin slot in, respectively, as the 15th and 16th leading scorers in the conference.
Honing in on the former guard, Wesley has been loosely touted as a potential late pick in this year’s NBA Draft. If so, the true freshman would become the first ever one-and-done to graze the program. Wesley attributes his juvenile success to his supporting cast.
“They push me everyday in practice, they tell me what I’m not doing and what I am,” he said. “That’s good for me because I didn’t have that in high school.”
Wesley actually played his junior ball at Riley High School in South Bend. When the four-star prospect committed in November of 2020, there was doubt that he would get immediate starting minutes.
It didn’t take long for that to change. By game seven against Boston College, Wesley snatched starting point guard duties from junior Prentiss Hubb. Once Coach Brey reinserted Hubb into the fold, he did so for senior Cormac Ryan; not the youngblood. Ever since, Wesley, Hubb and Goodwin have started every contest.
Before our broadcast of @Cuse_MBB and @NDmbb get to know the Fighting Irish.
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) February 22, 2022
☘️ Blake Wesley, G - Leads team in scoring
☘️ Prentiss Hubb, G - Top-10 in the ACC in assists
☘️ Dane Goodwin, G - Second in the ACC in three-point percentage pic.twitter.com/ksPPt5YdZ0
At times, the Irish have deployed a four-guard lineup. This has been especially common with forward Nate Laszewski’s recent leg injury. Over the past few games, Laszewski and Yale grad transfer Paul Atkinson, Jr. have been splitting duties in the paint.
Whichever combination Brey leans on, you can expect a full 40 minutes of communication and team ball from Notre Dame.
“You’ve got to give this group credit,” said the 22-year head man. “They just keep playing.”
One reason the players ‘keep playing’ is because of Brey’s hands-offapproach. His coaching philosophy is simple, yet effective. Let the players play and find their own roles in the system. Brey’s 2021-22 team has evidently embodied that nature.
So, that’s the gist of what Syracuse is up against tonight. This will not be an easy upset to pull on the road, given the Orange are 3-6 when away from the Dome.
The best thing the ‘Cuse can do is use momentum to its advantage. While Notre Dame is coming off a tough 79-72 loss to Wake Forest on Saturday, Syracuse is riding back-to-back wins against Boston College and Georgia Tech.
The latter of those affairs was decided by a 74-73 final in overtime. Against Georgia Tech, SU escaped victorious thanks to a strong defensive close.
“It’s a lot of guts, a lot of determination,” said Coach Boeheim following the win. “I’m really proud of them the way they made those last couple of stops. Those were tough plays to make.”
Tonight comes the first of three final chances to earn an oh-so important Quad 1 win for the Orange. Given what this program likes to do at this time of year, who knows if we’ll witness another epic late-season comeback win like last season.
Lights, camera, action. The stage is set in the Hoosier State. Boeheim v. Brey Round 28. To this point, the record between these two stands at 19-9 in favor of Boeheim.
Only one way to find out if the Orange can make it 20 for their fearless leader. Tune in tonight for full game coverage beginning with GZA Countdown to Tipoff at 6:30. Opening tip from the Joyce Center is slated for 7.