The latest rankings dropped Notre Dame three spots pushing them out of the top ten after their loss to unranked Syracuse 65-60 at home on February 24.
Wednesday, the Fighting Irish (24-5, ACC 12-4) will be tested on the road when they play No. 16 Louisville, who are coming off a 81-59 win over Florida State Saturday. While Notre Dame has already clinched a double-bye in the upcoming ACC tournament, Irish head coach Mike Brey said after the loss to Syracuse that this game is about seeing how his team comes back from a loss. They’ll have to confront one of the best players in the ACC and the country in junior power forward Montrezl Harrell. He is the team’s second leading scorer averaging 15.4 points per game, and he leads the Cardinals with 9.3 rebounds per game. Harrell is ranked by CBS Sports as the 21st best prospect in the 2015 NBA draft class.
Going back to Notre Dame’s 30-point loss to Duke, the Fighting Irish have allowed one of their opponent’s big men to lead their team in scoring in three of the last five games. Forward Rakeem Christmas from Syracuse could have finished the game as the Orange’s leading scorer had he not fouled. Jahlil Okafor scored 20 points for Duke, Jaron Blossomgame led Clemson with 17 points, Devin Thomas contributed 26 points for Wake Forest, Dennis Clifford scored 17 points for Boston College and Christmas contributed 14 points in Syracuse’s win against Notre Dame.
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It’s clear the Irish have trouble defending the paint, and against a talent like Harrell, it looks like they’re in for another struggle against a big man. Playing with four guards and one center definitely plays a role in allowing opposing centers and power forwards to have their way with Notre Dame, but come ACC tournament and NCAA tournament time, they’ll have to find a way to stop the bleeding inside to avoid an early exit from either tournament. On top of having to worry about Harrell, sophomore guard Terry Hozier is leading the Cardinals in scoring with 17.4 points per game, and he is second on the team in rebounding with 5.4 boards per game.
It doesn’t get any easier for Notre Dame as they’ll also have to deal with the 2-3 zone that smothered the Irish’s offense, ranked the second most efficient in the nation, to just 34.7% shooting against Syracuse, who also ran the same defensive scheme. Against the Orange, Senior guard Jerian Grant failed to attempt a single shot in the first half and finished with 13 points on 2-of-9 shooting.
“We just have to be more aggressive,” Grant, Notre Dame’s leading scorer, said after the loss to Syracuse. “Against the zone, if you have a look you have to take it. Our offense usually passes up good shots for great shots, but against a zone you have to take the shots when you’re open.”
This match-up against the Cardinals will be the first between the two schools since Notre Dame joined the ACC last season.