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Notre Dame Basketball: Time For Change Not Panic

By Chase Eyrich

Jan 30, 2017; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Steve Vasturia (32) shoots as Duke Blue Devils forward Harry Giles (1) defends in the first half at the Purcell Pavilion. Duke won 84-74. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 30, 2017; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Steve Vasturia (32) shoots as Duke Blue Devils forward Harry Giles (1) defends in the first half at the Purcell Pavilion. Duke won 84-74. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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After losing four of the last five Notre Dame basketball has hit the darkest part of the season.

Notre Dame started off conference play with a bang. Winning five straight games to open up in the ACC, ND looked dangerous. Now the Irish have their backs against the wall and have to figure something out.

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If you thought Mike Brey “loosest coach in America” was going to panic, think again.

Notre Dame doesn’t need to panic, and it’s unlikely that they will, but what really needs to happen is change.

The Irish will probably look to go a little bit smaller in their lineup against North Carolina on Saturday. The production that Mike Brey needs out of Martinas Geben just hasn’t been there.

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Notre Dame needs to find a way to get the offense going again. Pulling Geben not only opens up the lane but will help the offense run faster. And for ND, when the offense is playing up-temp, they’re high scoring. With a few players struggling right now they desperately need to find a way to get their rhythm back.

But how small to the Irish go?

Austin Torres started in the second half against Georgia Tech. While he brought some stout defense and grabbed some big boards, the Irish need to go smaller. Torres will be okay to through in rotation, but as far as starting, look for Rex Pflueger or the freshman T.J. Gibbs.

Torres will be okay to through in rotation, but as far as starting, look for Rex Pflueger or the freshman T.J. Gibbs to make their way into the lineup.

Defensively minded, Pflueger is the way you want to go. He gives you that energy to stay in a play and make something happen.

If you want the offense to get out running and be efficient, T.J. Gibbs can make that happen. He adds an element that will help ND spread the floor and help free up the offense, which could be exactly what they need to start scoring again.

If there was ever a time to go through a rough patch in the season, this seems ideal.

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You become closer as a group trying to fight back when you’re down, and this can help the Irish learn through adversity. With eight games left in the regular season

With eight games left in the regular season, there’s plenty of time to get things heading back in the right direction. But change needs to be urgent at this point in the season.