SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Notre Dame men’s basketball wants to carry its wave of momentum into a hostile JMA Wireless Dome environment where they haven’t won since 2020. The Fighting Irish (10-16, 5-10) are hitting their stride after winning three straight for the first time this season. Meanwhile, Syracuse enters with an 8-8 league record (17-10 overall) which has had its ups and downs. Most recently, the Orange knocked off North Carolina at home, lost to Georgia Tech on the road, then defeated NC State in Raleigh. The Irish will tip off against the Orange at Noon ET on Saturday, Feb. 24, airing live on ESPN.
Notre Dame fans will certainly recognize one of Syracuse’s top stars in JJ Starling. The sophomore transfer is averaging 15.1 ppg in league play, which ranks 2nd on the team.
Saturday’s game will also feature two of the top young guards in the ACC. Markus Burton is 1-of-2 ACC players averaging over 16 points and 4.0 assists – the other is Syracuse’s Judah Mintz. In ACC play, Mintz is averaging 16.1 points and 4.8 assists.
WIN STREAK
A streak isn’t a streak until three and this past Wednesday night Notre Dame officially made it so with a road win at Louisville. It marked the first time the Irish earned three in a row in ACC play since the 2021-22 season.
The commonality in all three victories – single-digit turnovers + double-digit assists. It marks the best stretch of their entire season, coughing it up just 21 times over the last three games. If they record double-digit assists on Saturday, the four straight games would mark the best stretch of the season in that category. Lastly, they’ve collected 40+ rebounds in two straight games with double-digit offensive boards. Now let’s look at each game.
The Irish held the Cardinals to a season-low 50 points – it marked the third ACC opponent this season in which they’ve held to a season low. The Irish showed growth in the second half when Louisville cut the lead to eight points but they responded with a game-ending 16-2 run.
Then there was the ‘gritty not pretty’ 58-55 victory over Georgia Tech. The Irish shot just 31.6 percent from the field but got it done where it counted: tied season high in offensive rebounds (16), season high in second chance points (20), season high in free-throw attempts (22) and a season low in turnovers (6).
Against the Hokies, the Irish rallied down four at the half to outscore VT 39-27 in the second half. Notre Dame shot 54.2 percent in the…