What's at stake for Notre Dame at Syracuse? Finding its old road swagger

Notre Dame men’s basketball was at home away from home a season ago. The Irish were 10-10 in road or neutral games last year and 7-5 in true road environments. That record was 7-3 in the final 10 road contests. The road mark might have been the most impressive part of their NCAA Tournament résumé after a win over Kentucky.

These days, though, playing anywhere other than Purcell Pavilion feels like a death wish. Notre Dame is 0-5 in road or neutral-site games, with three double-digit losses.

Not that the home floor and three losses on it have been a haven from this season’s issues, but the road swagger remains missing in action past the halfway point of the season. No one would guess this is largely the same cast of characters that put together a five-game road winning streak in ACC play last year.  

PROMOTION: Join for only $29.99 to unlock premium access until the start of the 2023 football season

The Irish can end that drought Saturday at Syracuse (7 p.m. ET, ACC) in a building they have left as winners in two of their last three visits.

A victory over an Orange outfit ranked No. 120 in the NET won’t push Notre Dame much closer to the NCAA Tournament or erase all the missteps that have contributed to a 9-8 record (1-5 in the ACC). What would it do? Restore some more pride. That’s what the Irish are playing for with a tournament bid not visible on the horizon. They’re a group of fifth-year players who have put too much into their college careers to let apathy take hold.

Tuesday’s 73-72 overtime defeat of Georgia Tech, while hardly convincing on the score sheet, was a better representation of that pride. It showed when guard Cormac Ryan lit into teammates in the final media timeout huddle, when the Irish were trailing by seven with fewer than three minutes left in regulation. It showed when they clawed back to force overtime. And when they responded to three Georgia Tech go-ahead baskets in overtime with answers of their own.

Maybe those were the first steps of Notre Dame picking itself up off the mat after an 0-5 start to conference play. That’s how the Irish are viewing the win, at least.

“Building off what we felt [Tuesday] night, being able to take punches, hang in there and stay tough throughout the course of a game, it’s not easy,” Ryan said. “Some of us have done it before. Some of us are new to it. Continue to believe in our group, believe in what we can do when we execute.”

The JMA Dome has not been the house of horrors for visitors that it was back in Syracuse’s early ACC days. Mid-major opponents Colgate and Bryant have already won there this year. Pittsburgh hung 84 points on the Orange there in a Dec. 20 win.

And Notre Dame was one more stop or one more made shot away from beating Syracuse in a 62-61 home loss Dec. 3, a game decided on guard Judah Mintz’s layup with 14 seconds left. The Irish will hit the road for the rematch feeling more confident than they have in recent weeks. That’s a start toward unlocking the old road mentality.

“There’s a part of you where you go there with a more positive frame of mind because you did win one,” head coach Mike Brey said. “You’re coming off a win and feeling better about yourself. When we play against that zone in that building, we have to be loose. If we have shots, rise up and take them.

“Play fearlessly. We have nothing to lose.”

Notre Dame (9-8, 1-5 ACC) at Syracuse (11-6, 4-2)

When: Saturday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. ET

Where: JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.

TV: ACC Network

Radio: Notre Dame basketball radio network

Series history: Syracuse leads 32-23

Last meeting: Syracuse won 62-61 on Dec. 3, 2022 in South Bend

KenPom prediction: Syracuse 73, Notre Dame 66

Leading scorers:

• Notre Dame: forward Nate Laszewski (13.6 ppg), guard JJ Starling (12.6 ppg)

• Syracuse: guard Joe Girard III (17.2 ppg), guard Judah Mintz (15.7 ppg)

Other notes:

• Syracuse is 8-2 in its last 10 games since a Nov. 29 loss at Illinois. The Orange started that run by beating Notre Dame. Their best in that span is an 82-72 home victory over Virginia Tech (No. 46 in KenPom) Wednesday.

• Notre Dame made 11 3-pointers in the first meeting, but was just 3-for-15 from deep in the second half.

• Syracuse’s defense is second nationally in block rate (17.3 percent), led by center Jesse Edwards’ 2.9 blocks per game. The Orange did not block a single shot last time vs. Notre Dame, though.

• Starling came off the bench vs. Georgia Tech for the first time this year. Brey said the Syracuse-area native will start Saturday.