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Notre Dame Men’s Basketball: Irish show grit, lack of depth in opening loss

By Brad Weiss

Nov 28, 2020; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Prentiss Hubb (3) gets defended by Michigan State Spartans forward Thomas Kithier (15) during the second half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 28, 2020; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Prentiss Hubb (3) gets defended by Michigan State Spartans forward Thomas Kithier (15) during the second half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Notre Dame Men’s Basketball team showed some grit on Saturday, but eventually, a lack of depth hurt them against No. 13 Michigan State.

The Notre Dame Men’s Basketball program had an opportunity to make a big statement in their season opener on Saturday night, as they headed up to East Lansing, Michigan to take on the No. 13-ranked Michigan State Spartans. After showing promise early, the Irish were blown away by the Spartans at times, but showed a lot of grit to only lose by ten points.

At one point in the game, the Spartans were beating the Irish soundly, going up by 28 points in the second half, but the Irish kept fighting to the end. That shows the kind of toughness and heart this team is going to bring every night, the kind of temperament they get from head coach Mike Brey.

If Saturday was any indication, the Irish are going to be a team that fights for a full 40 minutes every time they step on the court, and that will make for interesting basketball every game.

Hubb stepped up as the leader of the team

If the Irish were to do anything of substance this season, they needed guard Prentiss Hubb to take on a leadership role, and he showed he could do just that on Saturday against the Spartans. Hubb led the Irish with 23 points, while also grabbing six rebounds, but his five turnovers are a concern.

Notre Dame struggled with the turnovers last season as well, so that is something they are going to have to tighten up as the season wears on.

Cormac Ryan, making his debut for the Spartans after sitting out a year due to transfer protocol, struggled from the field, as he shot 3-for-12, with all of his baskets coming from behind the three-point line. He is a solid player, and now that the first-game jitters are out of his system, he is only going to get better from here.

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The Irish will hit the floor next Wednesday, as they play their home opener against Western Michigan in a game they should be able to win. Brey tweeted out that the team is looking for an opponent later in the week, so we will see when they lace em up again after the matchup with the Broncos.