Observations: Defensive issues doom Notre Dame again in loss to Georgia
Turns out, it could get worse than a 14-point home loss. Notre Dame came off a seven-day break after falling to Marquette Dec. 11 and delivered what feels like the low point of a season that has flown over the bar for disappointing.
The Irish lost to Georgia 77-62 Sunday in Atlanta, dropping their record to 7-4. They allowed at least 75 points for the third straight game and did not top 65 for the fourth time in six outings. The Bulldogs (8-3) earned their first win over a team ranked in the top 230 at KenPom.
Forward Nate Laszewski led Notre Dame with 20 points. Guard Cormac Ryan added 15, and guard JJ Starling had 14. The Irish shot 42.6 percent overall and 47.8 percent on 3-pointers. Georgia shot 50 percent from the field.
Here are three observations from the game.
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Defensive low point
This was not the first troubling defensive performance from the Irish. It sure feels like the most disappointing and unacceptable, though.
Notre Dame allowed 40 points in the paint, struggling to stay in front of drives and provide much resistance in the post. Georgia’s offensive plan was clear from the start: get its bigger “fours” going downhill with the ball and feed center Braelen Bridges in the post.
Forwards Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, Jabri Abdur-Rahim and KyeRon Lindsay – all at least 6-foot-7 and 215 pounds – combined for 31 points. They primarily played the “four,” which meant matchups against a guard in Notre Dame’s four-guard lineup. Georgia repeatedly called isolations for them to drive at a guard.
Bridges and Moncrieffe were the primary assailants. Notre Dame had no answer for stopping either. They totaled 33 points on 15-of-15 shooting. Their averages coming into the game were 6.2 and 6.0 points per game, respectively. The Irish didn’t double-teamed the post, even as the easy baskets piled up. Bridges had 18 points, mostly on post-ups against single coverage.
Out of character mistakes
Notre Dame’s season-long flaws haven’t been hard to spot. The defense has the look of a yearlong bugaboo. Stagnant stretches of offense that feature lots of standing, little passing and difficult shots have been more common than expected.
You can normally count on the Irish not to foul or turn the ball over, though. They entered play Sunday ranked No. 2 in opponent free throw rate and fifth in turnover percentage, per KenPom.
Which is what made Sunday so puzzling. Notre Dame had 15 turnovers and committed 18 fouls, both season-highs.
The Irish had nine of each in the first half. Three players had two fouls in the first half, and Georgia reached the bonus less than 14 minutes into the game.
Georgia does not defense known for taking the ball away – the Bulldogs began the game ranked 164th nationally in opponent turnover rate. A giveaway under the basket against a full-court press on one first-half possession gave Georgia an easy layup, but otherwise, Notre Dame’s errors were largely self-inflicted. There were drives into crowds with no plan, errant passes that sailed out of bounds, multiple travels, a push-off and a step out of bounds with the ball.
That’s how to trail by five at halftime despite shooting 53.8 percent on 3-pointers and making five more 3s than the opponent. And how to lose by 15 despite making seven more 3s than the other team.
Dom Campbell and zone time?
Head coach Mike Brey said Notre Dame was “close” to getting freshman forward Dom Campbell some more time on the floor before Campbell sprained an ankle earlier this month. Brey floated the idea Friday that Campbell could be on the cusp of becoming the eighth man in the rotation now that his ankle issue has abated.
Campbell did not check into the game until 2:32 remained, though, and the result was all but decided.
There will probably be growing pains with Campbell if he gets more time on the court, but:
• It’s not like the defense is in good shape anyway, and the offense is lacking a post presence.
• With post defense and containing the dribble as problematic as they are, wouldn’t a 6-foot-9, 268-pound obstacle in the paint help?
Elsewhere, Notre Dame played almost exclusively man defense. It played zone on just 10 percent of its defensive possessions over the first 10 games, per Synergy Sports. That’s a departure from last year, when the Irish’s 2-3 matchup zone became a weapon in ACC play. They played zone on 19.3 percent of possessions in 2021-22. Can that be a solution again? Is there a similar in-season adjustment that helps the defense?
“We do have to use that,” Brey said of the zone Friday. “But what we’ve done is let the ball get to the foul line way too early, and then we get spread out. We need some reps in that.
“We need to change gears and be able to play that.”
