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Notre Dame Men’s Basketball vs. Ohio State: 3 things we learned

By Brad Weiss

Dec 8, 2020; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Nate Laszewski (14) goes up for a shot as Ohio State Buckeyes forward E.J. Liddell (32) defends in the second half at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 8, 2020; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Nate Laszewski (14) goes up for a shot as Ohio State Buckeyes forward E.J. Liddell (32) defends in the second half at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Irish cannot afford to lose anyone to foul trouble Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
The Irish cannot afford to lose anyone to foul trouble Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

Notre Dame Men’s Basketball vs. Ohio State: 3 things we learned

Irish need to stay out of foul trouble

The Irish actually looked like the better team for most of the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes, showing the kind of inside-out game they are going to need in a tough ACC slate this season. They got a tremendous effort from Juwan Durham, who finished the game with seven points and eight rebounds, though his fouling out left the Irish with a lack of depth down low.

After Durham fouled out with a little under nine minutes left in the game, and the Buckeyes made their free throws after the foul, Ohio State went on a 21-15 run. That proved to be the difference in the game, as without Durham available, the Irish had to turn to freshman Matt Zona, and there is just too big of a drop off at this point in their two careers.

Notre Dame has some good talent on both sides of the ball, and Durham and Laszewski have played well to open the 2020 season. For them to hang in against top-25 talent, they are going to have to stay out of foul trouble, as they cannot afford for a player like Durham to be unavailable with over ten minutes left in the game.