Slap the Sign
Fansided

Notre Dame Basketball: What’s in store for Irish vs Saint Peter’s

By Noah Strackbein

facebooktwitterreddit

Notre Dame basketball will take on Saint Peter’s as they look to win back-to-back games. Here’s how to watch the Fighting Irish vs the Peacocks online.

Notre Dame is looking to start another winning streak following their 77-62 win over Colgate. Against Saint Peter’s, the Fighting Irish shouldn’t have much trouble finding their 11th win of the season.

After two losses to Villanova and Purdue, Notre Dame’s weaknesses were exposed, and everyone began to panic. But the season is far from over, and before ACC play starts, the Irish are looking to begin a new winning streak.

As Notre Dame tries to keep climbing the AP Polls, they’ll need to go through the Peacocks. Although Saint Peter’s isn’t much of a threat, they still have players that could give the Irish trouble.

More from Slap the Sign

As usual, Bonzie Colson will have the biggest challenge of the evening. Saint Peter’s center, Quadir Walton is the Peacock’s leader in almost every statistical category. At 6’8, Walton doesn’t give Colson the height disadvantage most other centers have this season. His ability to score and secure the paint still makes him a concern for the 6’5 Colson.

With ACC play beginning in three days, Notre Dame’s concern shouldn’t be preparing their starters, but resting them. The Irish are yet to find any sort of bench and will continue to struggle as long as they rely solely on their starters.

A game against Saint Peter’s isn’t one the Irish will lose. That being said, head coach Mike Brey should use this as an opportunity to develop bench players. John Mooney and Elijah Burns should be playing heavy minutes in this matchup. Teams like Pitt and Clemson aren’t going to allow you to win with five guys. Brey knows that and if he wants to compete in conference games he needs to use easy wins as learning experiences.

The key to Notre Dame’s future success is allowing players outside their comfort zone run the floor. Don’t keep Matt Farrell and Bonzie Colson in for 25 minutes. Instead, the Irish need to let bench players try to win this game, because against ACC teams, they’ll need much more than their reliable five.

Here’s how to watch Notre Dame vs Saint Peter’s:

Date: Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Start Time: 7:00 PM EST
Location: South Bend, IN
Venue: Purcell Pavilion
TV: ACC Network Extra
Live Stream: ACC Extra