Notre Dame Basketball: At 10-5, What’s Missing?
By Brad Wechter
The hangover from Glendale has subsided, and Notre Dame fans all over (I imagine at least some of them) are turning their eyes to the hardwood.
The Notre Dame basketball Irish sprung into conference play the day after the good guy golden domers fell in a valiant effort the bad guy Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl and I’m not bitter about it at all.
At 10-5 overall and 1-2 in the ACC, the are in a precarious place. There are plenty of questions that need answered if the Irish hope to employ Mike Brey’s patented Win-10-straight-conference-games-to-close-the-season approach.
The Offense is Efficient – As Usual
The Irish have the 9th ranked offense in terms of points scored per 100 possessions (offensive rating) in the nation, and they only drop to 15th when adjusted for opponent strength. That’s one rank better than top-ranked Kansas, and ranks the Irish above teams like Oklahoma, Villanova and Xavier, just to name a few. Per KenPom, that’s good enough for Notre Dame to be the third best offense in the nation. Notre Dame fans are somewhat spoiled; they’re used to watching great offense, especially after last year.
The Defense, on The Other Hand
You know what else fans of the Irish are used to? A defensive rating that puts the Irish 157th in the nation when adjusted for schedule difficulty won’t raise too many flags in South Bend. Even with that poor defensive rating, the Irish are still the 38th team in terms of net rating in the nation, according to sports-reference.com, so bad defense is typically dismissed when the Irish are winning. They aren’t, though.
So, What’s Missing?
Offense and defense seems to be on par for Notre Dame. Turnover numbers are low, as well (4th lowest in the nation) but man, have those turnovers come at a bad time. The Irish let Indiana back in the game in a marquee OOC game with turnovers and empty possessions on offense – two things you can’t do if you’re relying on your offensive efficiency to negate a lack of defense.
I’d hate to be cliche and use something as lazy as “they are lacking toughness”, but it’s something that has validity. Last year, in crunch-type situations again and again, Pat Connaughton and Jerian Grant stepped up and made plays. This year, no one seems to want to do that. Mike Brey and co. will have to figure out who is going to step up moving forward.
Two of the Irish’s losses aren’t really that bad. Monmouth has proven to be a decent team, and Indiana will win some games in the B1G. The third loss, against Alabama, not great. It would be easy to say that with a few timely defensive stop and the ability to hit free throws, we’d be looking at a totally different start to the season. However, a deeper look at the games the Irish have played reveal different flaws.
An issue that the Irish were able to overcome in early-season wins over lesser opponents became glaring in a loss to Indiana in the Crossroads Classic. With a large lead in the second half and great contributions from Bonzie Colsion, the Irish were in a position they found themselves in often last season. It was time to put the pedal down and bury Indiana, but that didn’t happen.
Improvements are there, however. After being completely outclassed in the first half of the ACC opener against Virginia, the Irish hung in there in the 2nd half and were on the brink of making things interesting. A close loss to a ranked-Pitt team on Saturday isn’t the end of the world, but the Irish will have to do better.
Where Do We Go From Here?
From where I see it, here’s what the Irish have to play for:
- They are defending the ACC Championship, after all
- Zach Auguste’s draft stock
- Getting the most out of what is potentially DJ’s final year at ND
A run in the ACC tournament, a berth in the NCAA tournament, a navigable seed, a potential run. All of these things, in my opinion, fall under my final bullet point. Getting the most out of what may turn out to be the last year we see Demetrius Jackson in a Notre Dame basketball jersey. It would be a shame if this highly talented Irish team, lead by a future NBA player and potential NBA star, struggled their way through a loaded conference and had to settle for anything less than an NCAA Tournament berth.