Notre Dame Basketball Set For SEC Matchup Against Georgia

After playing four straight home games before finals, the Fighting Irish men are in Atlanta for their second to last non-conference game of the season.

The Notre Dame men’s basketball team has been off for a week due to final exams. The Fighting Irish play their first game away from Purcell Pavilion when they face the Georgia Bulldogs on Sunday in a neutral site matchup in Atlanta.

Where: Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
When: Sunday, Dec. 18 – 5:30 PM EST
Network: ESPN2
Radio: Notre Dame Radio Network – WSBT 960 AM in South Bend, Tony Simeone PBP

Let's take a look at today’s matchup:

NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (7-3, 0-1 ACC)

Head Coach: Mike Brey (479-262 at Notre Dame (23rd season), 578-314 28th season overall)

Notre Dame fell flat its last time out in a 79-64 loss to Marquette. The Warriors dominated the Irish 50-22 in the paint while shooting a robust 47% from the floor. Marquette also used 15 offensive rebounds to score 22 second chance points. The 119th all-time meeting between the two former Big East rivals was also their first in nearly a decade. Oso Ighodaro had 16 points and 18 rebounds and hit 7 of 10 from the floor (with no 3-point shots) for the Warriors.

“That is a Big East kind of beating,” Irish head coach Mike Brey said afterwards.

“Driving at your throat, coming at you, grabbing at you, holding you. We don’t get guarded like that in the ACC. We used to be a little more battle-tested playing against that.”

Nate Laszewski was Notre Dame’s primary offense for the Irish. The fifth year forward scored 20 points for his third 20-point game of the season. Freshman JJ Starling added 12.

Probable Irish Starting Lineup

G JJ Starling - 6-3, Fr. - 12.5 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.1 APG
G Cormac Ryan - 6-5, 5th – 12.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.9 APG
G Dane Goodwin - 6-6, 5th – 12.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.7 APG
G Trey Wertz - 6-5, 5th. - 10.8 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 4.1 APG
F Nate Laszewski - 6-10, 5th – 14.9 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.6 APG

Georgia Bulldogs (7-3, 0-0 SEC)

Head Coach: Mike White (7-3 in 1st season at Georgia, 250-131 in 12th year Overall)

Bulldog head coach Mike White left Florida after seven seasons and four NCAA Tournament appearances to take over in Athens. He is the son of former Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White, who led the Fighting Irish athletic department from 2000-2008 and hired Brey in July of 2000. Mike White grew up wanting to play for Notre Dame, but ultimately played point guard at Ole Miss from 1995-1999. This will be the first time he has coached against the Fighting Irish.

Georgia’s three losses are to Wake Forest, Alabama-Birmingham and Georgia Tech, which they fell to 79-77 on Dec. 6.

Opponent Projected Starting Lineup

G Terry Roberts- Stats – 14.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 4.4 APG
G Kario Oquendo - Stats – 13.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG
F Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe - Stats – 6.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG
C Braelen Bridges - Stats – 6.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG
G Justin Hill - Stats – 8.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.9 APG

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

This will be just the fourth all-time meeting between Notre Dame and Georgia. The last was in November of 2011 when the Bulldogs edged the Fighting Irish 61-57 in Kansas City.

Through good and bad, Notre Dame’s starting five has been the same in all 10 games this season. Brey’s four most experienced core players, Goodwin, Laszewski, Ryan, and Wertz have been joined by freshman guard Starling as the starters, with Lubin as the first (and mostly only) player off the bench. They’ve been joined by Niagara transfer Marcus Hammond in the last three games off the bench after he missed the first seven games with an MCL strain. None of that is likely to change anytime soon.

Georgia’s lineup has been much more in flux under their first-year head coach, White. Not one Bulldog has started all 10 of their games. Terry Roberts is the closest. The Bradley transfer started Georgia’s first nine games, but missed their loss to Georgia Tech. Only four Bulldogs have played in all 10 games.

“We’ve had a lot of stuff here with bumps and bruises and with illnesses lately,” White told the Athens Banner-Herald before Georgia’s matchup with the Yellow Jackets.

Nine Georgia players have started at least three games already this season.

Braelin Bridges will be the latest interior challenge the Fighting Irish will face. The 6-11 graduate student recorded a team-high 25 double-figure scoring games last season, but he is averaging just 6.2 points and 4.2 rebounds through 10 games with a new head coach. 

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