Opponent Preview: Everything to know about Notre Dame

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Following its thrilling win over NC State on the road, Syracuse now travels back home for a blast from the past. At halftime of their game versus Notre Dame on Saturday, the Orange will honor former head coach Jim Boeheim at halftime. But as there will be a sense of nostalgia, SU takes on the Fighting Irish, a program also in year one without a coaching legend. Micah Shrewsberry is at the helm after Mike Brey became an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks following 23 years at Notre Dame.

In its first season without Brey, Notre Dame has been one of the worst teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference and Power 6, though it has won its last two games against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. Coming off of a Quad 1 win over NC State, SU needs to continue racking up wins to build its NCAA resume. After winning a Quad 1 game against North Carolina on Feb. 13, the Orange lost their next game on the road to Georgia Tech.

Here’s everything you need to know about Notre Dame (10-16, 5-10 ACC) before it travels to the JMA Wireless Dome to face Syracuse (17-10, 8-8 ACC).

All-time series

Syracuse leads 33-22.

Last time they played…

Syracuse entered its first ACC matchup of the 2022-23 season riding a three-game losing streak. In the first half against the Fighting Irish on Jan. 14, it seemed as though the losing ways would continue as the Orange trailed by four at halftime.

The second half didn’t start much better, as ND jumped out to a 12-point lead. But as Judah Mintz, Justin Taylor and Chris Bell heated up in the final 10 minutes, SU clawed back. It took the lead with three and a half minutes remaining off a Bell triple. The forward finished with a then-career-high 17 points in the 78-73 comeback victory.

KenPom odds

Syracuse has a 77% chance of winning, with a projected score of 69-61.

The Fighting Irish report

With Brey no longer in the picture, Shrewsberry, Penn State’s former head coach, is tasked with reviving a program that has been mired in mediocrity, only making one postseason appearance since 2018.

Shrewsberry has had experience in revival projects, bringing the Nittany Lions back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in over a decade in 2022-23, but he still has work to do in South Bend.

The Fighting Irish are abysmal offensively. As a team, Notre Dame shoots 30% from 3 and holds a 46.6% effective field goal percentage. Both of these figures rank near the bottom among Division I teams and are undoubtedly the worst in the ACC. ND’s adjusted defensive efficiency is solid, ranking 27th overall per KenPom, but it doesn’t make up for its offensive deficiencies.

The only double-digit scorer on Notre Dame is guard Markus Burton, who averages 16 points per game. Aside from him, though, it’s a barren wasteland for points as no other Fighting Irish averages double-digit scoring.

Cindy Zhang | Digital Design Director

How Syracuse beats Notre Dame

SU’s win over NC State should provide an offensive blueprint for it in various ways. With Bell burying corner 3s in the first half and Quadir Copeland and Mintz slicing through defenders, the Orange can put together another solid performance at home. And if Maliq Brown gets a few more points on the board, that could spell trouble for the Irish.

But in truth, Notre Dame’s offense is so bad that SU could play below average offensively and still pull out the win. When ND has held an opponent to a sub-40 field goal percentage, it has gone 5-6. The Orange have the talent on both offense and defense to breeze by the Fighting Irish in the comfy confines of the Dome.

Stat to know: 63.9

Along with having an inefficient offense, Notre Dame plays at one of the slower paces in college basketball. The Fighting Irish have a tempo of 63.9, which ranks 339th out of 362 D-I teams. There are only four Power Six teams that have a slower tempo than ND — Villanova, Houston, UCLA and Virginia. While these teams are all either locks for the NCAA Tournament or bubble contenders, the slow pace for Notre Dame is just one more signifier of a broken offense.

Player to watch: Markus Burton, guard, No. 3

After J.J. Starling transferred from South Bend to Syracuse, Burton became the Irish’s go-to guard. He is the only player of note on this dreadful squad as he handles 33% of all Notre Dame’s possessions, which ranks seventh in D-I. This has warranted Burton having the highest usage rate in the ACC (32.9), showing ND loves to turn to him.