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Notre Dame Fighting Irish tipoff taste: Grounding the Stonehill Skyhawks

Micah Shrewsberry begins Year 2 at the helm of the Notre Dame basketball team looking for a fresh start after last year's struggles.

By TJ O'Sullivan

ACC Basketball Tournament - First Round
ACC Basketball Tournament - First Round / G Fiume/GettyImages
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Stonehill College travels to South Bend for the first time as a Division I opponent as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball team opens up its season at Purcell Pavilion. Back in 2011, the Mike Brey-led Irish took down then-Division II Stonehill, 92-70, but since then the Skyhawks have come under new management.

Head coach Chris Kraus took over the Stonehill program in 2013 and made his mark at the Division II level. Under Kraus, the Skyhawks appeared in six NE-10 Tournaments and earned three berths to the Division II NCAA Tournament. In 2016, Kraus led Stonehill to the Elite Eight.

Since moving to Division I in 2022, Stonehill has seen its ups and downs. In their inaugural Division I season, the Skyhawks put up a 10-6 conference record (2nd in the NEC), earning Kraus the Jim Phelan NEC Coach of the Year Award. Last season, Stonehill finished 4-27.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish looking to get off on the right foot

The Irish have seen immense success on the recruiting trail this offseason, but Notre Dame took some bumps on the court last season. Shrewsberry's squad finished 13-20, a season that included both a seven-game losing streak and a win in the ACC Tournament. The Irish are looking to rebound this year, returning a strong core, led by Markus Burton, and adding some key freshmen in Sir Mohammed and Cole Certa.

One of the biggest areas of needed improvement for the Irish: Shooting. Notre Dame shot just 40.7% from the field as a team, 33.4% from deep. Burton was just about the only consistent player on the roster, which is why fans gasped in April when he announced he was entering into the NBA Draft. Burton ended up returning, but will need shooters around him in order for Notre Dame to be successful.

Shrewsberry looked to strengthen that aspect of the roster as well, bringing in Matt Allocco from Princeton. Allocco was the only player in the nation last season to average 50% FG, 40% 3PT, and 90% FG in 25+ games, so his presence is a promising sign for Irish shot-selection this season.

Stonehill is coming off of a 19-point win over Framingham State on Monday, looking to continue its hot start. On the other hand, Shrewsberry is looking to improve to 2-0 in Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball season openers. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

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