Preview: Stanford Men’s Basketball welcomes Notre Dame to Maples
On Tuesday, December 30th, Stanford men’s basketball will welcome Notre Dame to Maples Pavilion. Tipoff is set for 6:00 PM PT on ESPN2. Stanford comes in at 11-2 overall while Notre Dame comes in at 9-4. This will be the first game of ACC play for both teams.
Last time out: Stanford defeated CSUN 88-80 on Saturday as freshman point guard Ebuka Okorie scored 30 points, earning his first ACC Rookie of the Week award.
RECAP: Stanford Men’s Basketball closes out non-conference with win over CSUN
READ: Ebuka Okorie named ACC Rookie of the Week for the first time
Stanford injury report: According to the ACC student-athlete availability report for Tuesday, December 30th, both Tallis Toure and Evan Stinson are out for the Cardinal.
On Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish have won four of their last five games with wins over Missouri, TCU, Idaho, and Evansville. The win over TCU was on a neutral court while the others were at home. The loss was in their most recent game to Purdue Fort Wayne at home, losing 72-69 back on December 21st. They’ve had over a week to put that loss behind them as they prepare for ACC play.
Notre Dame battled No. 16 Kansas decently tough in Las Vegas during Thanksgiving week, losing 71-61 before bouncing back to beat Rutgers 68-63. They then lost to No. 8 Houston in Las Vegas by a final score of 66-56. So, they’ve played some ranked teams tough but just haven’t been able to get over the hump.
The Irish are missing their leading scorer, junior guard Markus Burton, who was averaging 18.5 points and 3.7 assists per game before injuring his left ankle/foot against TCU back on December 5th. Burton underwent surgery and is out for the foreseeable future. With him out, freshman guard Jalen Haralson (14.7 points) and junior guard Braeden Shrewsberry (12.2 points) are going to have to be the main ones shouldering the scoring load. Haralson scored 21 points in their loss to Purdue Fort Wayne and also scored 20 points in their wins over Idaho and TCU.
As a team, the Irish average 76.7 points per game on 47.1% shooting from the field, 37.9% shooting from 3-point range, and 71.1% shooting from the foul line. They average 37.7 rebounds, 13.1 assists, 5.0 steals, 1.9 blocks, and 11.9 turnovers per game. They also average a +7.3 rebounding margin and a -1.4 turnover margin per game. Their opponents average 68.4 points per game on 41.7% shooting from the field, 33.3% shooting from 3-point range, and 72.1% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is push the ball in transition. They score at a higher clip, averaging 81.8 points per game and really thrive when Okorie has the rock and is bursting down the floor. Getting steals (8.8 per game) really helps with that. If Stanford can get out in transition and let Okorie do his thing in the open floor, they should be in a good spot to win this game.
Secondly, Stanford needs to contain Haralson. He’s going to look to get rolling in this one and be the featured scorer. Given they are without Burton, if Stanford can keep Haralson to 14 points or fewer, it’s going to be hard for Notre Dame’s offense to generate enough points.
Finally, Stanford needs to stay active on the glass. Stanford averages a +6.0 rebounding margin per game while Notre Dame averages a +7.3 rebounding margin. Whichever team controls the glass will have an edge.
Prediction: Given the game is at Stanford and Notre Dame is without Burton, I gotta roll with Stanford in this one by a final score of 80-74.
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