Notre Dame to play Bowling Green as part of 2022-23 non-conference schedule
Notre Dame men’s basketball has filled another slot on its 2022-23 non-conference schedule.
The Irish will host Bowling Green at Purcell Pavilion next season, according to a report from CBS’ Jon Rothstein, with a date to be determined. It will be their first meeting since 1972 and the eighth all time.
Notre Dame has a 5-2 lead in the series against Bowling Green, with all seven games coming between 1960 and 1972. The Falcons went 13-18 overall and 6-14 in the Mid-American Conference this season, ending as the No. 284-ranked team per KenPom.
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This is the first known opponent for what will likely be five or six Notre Dame home games against mid- and low-majors. With 20 ACC games, the Irish can play a maximum of 11 non-conference contests. College basketball teams may not exceed 31 regular-season games.
The meat of Notre Dame’s non-conference schedule is still not finalized, but some of it is known. The Irish will play St. Bonaventure at UBS Arena in Belmont Park, N.Y., on Nov. 25 as part of the Gotham Classic.
Notre Dame will begin a home-and-home with Marquette Dec. 11 in South Bend, a change from the original agreement that had the series starting in Milwaukee. It will likely host an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game after going on the road to play Illinois last year. The Irish and Kentucky have agreed to cancel the third game of their contract, which was to be played at a neutral site. The series ends after two Irish wins, 2020 in Lexington and 2021 in South Bend.
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Another event coming off the non-conference schedule is the Crossroads Classic, held annually in Indianapolis since 2011-12. This year was the last edition of it. Notre Dame played Indiana, Butler and Purdue on a rotating schedule in the event’s 11 years. The Irish lost to Indiana 64-56 on Dec. 18 in their final Crossroads game.
Notre Dame went 24-11 overall and 15-5 in the ACC this year and was the last at-large team selected to the NCAA Tournament. The Irish beat fellow No. 11 seed Rutgers in the First Four and No. 6 Alabama in the round of 64 before losing to No. 3 Texas Tech in the second round.
Since then, leading scorer Blake Wesley (14.4 points per game) declared for the NBA Draft with intentions on remaining in it. Head coach Mike Brey said guard Prentiss Hubb (team-best 4.0 assists per game) will not use the COVID-19 waiver to play a fifth season and forward Nate Laszewski (9.3 ppg., 45.6 three-point percentage) is testing the draft process.
Brey hinted at fifth-year returns for guards Dane Goodwin (13.6 ppg., 45.8 three-point percentage) and Cormac Ryan (9.2 ppg., 40.7 percent on three-pointers). Forward Paul Atkinson Jr. (12.5 ppg.) is out of eligibility.
