Is the greatest strength of Notre Dame Basketball holding them back?

For the second straight season, Notre Dame basketball has given us the same story.

Loaded with talent, this Notre Dame basketball team puts itself in positions to win games. Closing out those games is where the Irish continue to fall short.

Lack of experience and confidence has been the scapegoat for the duration of these issues. Injuries have done their fair share of setbacks as well over the last few seasons, but this season that doesn’t hold as much truth.

The issue may have a direct correlation to their greatest strength.

There isn’t a team in the ACC or the rest of the country that would be surprised to see Notre Dame pull up from beyond the arc.

The Irish love shooting the deep ball and find much of their success while doing so. It has reached the point to where Head Coach Mike Brey has set a benchmark.

According to the winningest coach in ND men’s basketball history, the Irish need to hit 10-12 threes to win games.

It’s hard to beat any team finding that much success from behind the arc. Hitting that many threes is a winning formula. How the Irish go about it is a different story.

Notre Dame has proven that they can run with some of the best teams in the country. A one point loss to No. 5 Florida State is an all too familiar of a story for the Irish.

2-6 in the ACC with five losses adding up to a total of a 16 point differential — not great.

They have seen victory slip right out of their hands far too many times.

The issue doesn’t come from a lack of effort or talent, it’s the way the offense runs.

The Irish know they can shoot from deep. The problem is, so does everyone else. Notre Dame finds success when they go with a smaller lineup, playing John Mooney as their only big man and utilizing four shooters.

Those four shooters latch onto the arc as if they were ready to hit each spot in a game of “around the world”.

The way offenses get around how they would be guarded in this type of set up is similar to how they would against a 2-3 zone. You get the ball to the inside and it shrinks the defense.

But the Irish limit themselves in this way. The primary way Notre Dame basketball tries to accomplish this is by passing the ball either to the free throw-line or near the block. Besides for the ball, movement often is not made.

When Notre Dame goes on scoring runs, it’s often because movement towards inside the arc is made by the ball handler, forcing the defense to collapse and draw in the help-side defense’s attention.

Not only is Notre Dame forcing the defense’s hand, they are also putting themselves in positions to to create a rhythm. That’s something all shooters — which Notre Dame has plenty of — need to be successful.

It’s never been a question of if this team is good enough. It’s about focusing on the small things that work best for this team. Right now, that’s not happening.