Notre Dame Notes
The Irish are coming off a 77-66 defeat at Virginia Jan. 2 in their conference opener, a contest where they trailed by double digits for a large portion of the night.
That defeat followed two underwhelming home wins against Youngstown State (Dec. 21) and Liberty (Dec. 29), leaving Notre Dame desperately seeking some positive momentum before Pittsburgh (Jan. 9) and Georgia Tech (Jan. 13) come to town.
One boost could have come in the form of a new team leader. Junior guard Steve Vasturia was announced as a new captain of the program Jan. 4, perhaps inserting a small jolt of energy into the team. He joins junior guard Demetrius Jackson, senior forward Zach Auguste and senior forward Austin Burgett as captains.
Notre Dame also catches a scheduling break in playing Boston College on Thursday, which could help it climb back on the right track. The Eagles are the ACC?s lowest-rated team in the Kenpom.com rankings, and the Irish have won five straight games against Boston College.
Still, Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey on Tuesday agreed with the notion that road wins never come easy. Especially in a league as stacked as the ACC.
?[A record of] 1-1 on the road to start [ACC play] would be great,? Brey said. ?If we didn?t have a game Saturday we?d have a parade Friday evening somewhere in South Bend.
?There?s nothing like a one-game win streak in league play just to feel like you?re back in the mix.?
Demetrius Jackson ? Leads the Irish in scoring (16.4 points per game), assists (4.9 per game) and steals (1.2 per game).
Steve Vasturia ? Newly elected team captain is averaging a career-high 12.2 points per game.
V.J. Beachem ? Made 37 of 81 three-point attempts (45.7 percent) so far this season.
Bonzie Colson ? Rated as Notre Dame?s second-most efficient offensive starter of the season so far, according to Kenpom.com?s individual offensive player rating formula.
Zach Auguste ? Finished with season lows in points (one) and rebounds (two) in the team?s loss to Virginia Jan. 2.
Boston College Overview
The Eagles are coming off a 81-64 home loss to Duke Jan. 2. Prior to that defeat they had won four straight games, but those victories came against some inferior opponents. Three of those wins came against teams outside the Kenpom.com top 200.
They?re ranked No. 190 nationally on Kenpom, which is by far the lowest mark in the ACC. Virginia Tech (No. 116) is the second-lowest ranked team in the conference.
Head coach Jim Christian?s team is actually pretty respectable on defense, checking in at 74th nationally in defensive efficiency. It?s the other end of the court where his program?s struggles have come, ranking 297th in offensive efficiency.
The Eagles scoring woes stem mainly from two categories ? offensive rebounding and free throw shooting. Boston College only grabs an offensive rebound on 21.8 percent of their misses, ranking 336th nationally. And they?re only making 64 percent of their free throws, ranking 303rd in the country.
Their go-to player is senior Eli Carter. The 6-2 guard holds one of the highest usage rates in the country, with 33 percent of Boston College?s possessions ending through him when he?s in the game ? the 11th-highest rate nationally.
Outlook
As mentioned earlier, the road is never easy (see Virginia?s 70-68 loss at Virginia Tech on Monday). And the Irish admittedly have slipped in a bit of a down streak. But this is still a game that Notre Dame should be able to win at least three out of four tries.
--Rivals.com
The Irish are coming off a 77-66 defeat at Virginia Jan. 2 in their conference opener, a contest where they trailed by double digits for a large portion of the night.
That defeat followed two underwhelming home wins against Youngstown State (Dec. 21) and Liberty (Dec. 29), leaving Notre Dame desperately seeking some positive momentum before Pittsburgh (Jan. 9) and Georgia Tech (Jan. 13) come to town.
One boost could have come in the form of a new team leader. Junior guard Steve Vasturia was announced as a new captain of the program Jan. 4, perhaps inserting a small jolt of energy into the team. He joins junior guard Demetrius Jackson, senior forward Zach Auguste and senior forward Austin Burgett as captains.
Notre Dame also catches a scheduling break in playing Boston College on Thursday, which could help it climb back on the right track. The Eagles are the ACC?s lowest-rated team in the Kenpom.com rankings, and the Irish have won five straight games against Boston College.
Still, Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey on Tuesday agreed with the notion that road wins never come easy. Especially in a league as stacked as the ACC.
?[A record of] 1-1 on the road to start [ACC play] would be great,? Brey said. ?If we didn?t have a game Saturday we?d have a parade Friday evening somewhere in South Bend.
?There?s nothing like a one-game win streak in league play just to feel like you?re back in the mix.?
Demetrius Jackson ? Leads the Irish in scoring (16.4 points per game), assists (4.9 per game) and steals (1.2 per game).
Steve Vasturia ? Newly elected team captain is averaging a career-high 12.2 points per game.
V.J. Beachem ? Made 37 of 81 three-point attempts (45.7 percent) so far this season.
Bonzie Colson ? Rated as Notre Dame?s second-most efficient offensive starter of the season so far, according to Kenpom.com?s individual offensive player rating formula.
Zach Auguste ? Finished with season lows in points (one) and rebounds (two) in the team?s loss to Virginia Jan. 2.
Boston College Overview
The Eagles are coming off a 81-64 home loss to Duke Jan. 2. Prior to that defeat they had won four straight games, but those victories came against some inferior opponents. Three of those wins came against teams outside the Kenpom.com top 200.
They?re ranked No. 190 nationally on Kenpom, which is by far the lowest mark in the ACC. Virginia Tech (No. 116) is the second-lowest ranked team in the conference.
Head coach Jim Christian?s team is actually pretty respectable on defense, checking in at 74th nationally in defensive efficiency. It?s the other end of the court where his program?s struggles have come, ranking 297th in offensive efficiency.
The Eagles scoring woes stem mainly from two categories ? offensive rebounding and free throw shooting. Boston College only grabs an offensive rebound on 21.8 percent of their misses, ranking 336th nationally. And they?re only making 64 percent of their free throws, ranking 303rd in the country.
Their go-to player is senior Eli Carter. The 6-2 guard holds one of the highest usage rates in the country, with 33 percent of Boston College?s possessions ending through him when he?s in the game ? the 11th-highest rate nationally.
Outlook
As mentioned earlier, the road is never easy (see Virginia?s 70-68 loss at Virginia Tech on Monday). And the Irish admittedly have slipped in a bit of a down streak. But this is still a game that Notre Dame should be able to win at least three out of four tries.
--Rivals.com
