Observations: Duke stifles Notre Dame offense in 57-43 home defeat

On3 imageby:Patrick Engel01/31/22

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Notre Dame struck first.

And that was it.

The Irish scored on their opening possession, promptly devolved into a nearly seven-minute field goal drought and never recovered. That’s all a top-10 team with a host of potential NBA draft picks needed to slowly suck the life out of Notre Dame’s offense and a sold-out Purcell Pavilion.

The first Notre Dame Big Monday appearance in two seasons amounted to a dud of a performance in a game that had the most power to boost their NCAA tournament chances of any left on the schedule. The Irish lost 57-43 to No. 9 Duke Monday night, ending a four-game win streak. They’re 14-7 and 7-3 in the ACC, sitting in a tie for third place. A win could have moved them into first. Up next is a Wednesday road game at league leader Miami.

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Notre Dame shot 27.9 percent from the field, 16.7 percent (3-of-18) on three-pointers and averaged .66 points per possession. Forward Paul Atkinson Jr. was the lone Irish player to score in double figures, with 14 points. Duke shot 39.4 percent.

Here are three observations from the game.

BOX SCORE

1. Stilted offense

More than half of Notre Dame’s possessions felt like a suffocation. The others led to makeable shots, whether it be catch-and-shoot three-pointers or layups – and the Irish missed a whole lot of those.

The first was expected, to a degree, against Duke’s athletic defense. The Blue Devils entered the night with the No. 1 defense in ACC play, per KenPom. They switched most screens and gave Notre Dame fits with it. They ran shooters off the line and contested what felt like at least half of Notre Dame’s 22 layup attempts.

The latter, though, was a letdown for a team that has shot the ball well on its home floor ever since a Nov. 16 fistfight against High Point.

Shots at the rim felt rushed and timid, as if Notre Dame players heard footsteps or felt an outstretched arm, even if one wasn’t there. Nate Laszewski, a 47.4 percent three-point shooter coming in, fired his first attempt from beyond the arc into the backboard. Notre Dame was 6-of-32 in the first half, which included a 3-of-10 mark on layups and 0-for-8 drought from three. Its 14 first-half points were the fewest in any period of Mike Brey’s 22 seasons as head coach.

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The second half produced more of the same. Notre Dame did not make a three-pointer until 13:23 remained. It had just eight assists against 12 turnovers. The Irish’s only semi-consistent source of points was Atkinson, who was 7-of-15 from the field. Notre Dame found him three times on dump-off passes at the basket in the first half.

Leading scorer Dane Goodwin, who had reached double figures in every game this year, had zero points on 0-of-7 shooting. Duke forwards Paolo Banchero and Wendell Moore Jr. contributed to stifling him and limiting his open jump shot opportunities.

Duke played almost no help defense, which gave Atkinson one-on-one chances, but limited the three-point volume Notre Dame needed to reach to have a chance. Irish guards couldn’t get past Duke perimeter defenders often enough to find clean layups.

2. Defense keeps Notre Dame in it for a half

Notre Dame opened 6-of-24 from the field, yet when that 18th miss clanged off the rim, the Irish trailed by just four points.

They can thank some spirited defense and a few unforced Duke turnovers for keeping them in the game for 20-plus minutes despite the mess on the other end. Even in the second half, Notre Dame defended well. All told, Duke averaged just .89 points per possession, shot 3-of-19 from three-point range and committed 14 turnovers.

Atkinson, Goodwin and forward Nate Laszewski took turns defending Banchero, Duke’s leading scorer and a projected top-three NBA draft pick. He pumped in 21 points, but needed 22 shots to get there and did not attempt a free throw. Notre Dame committed just eight fouls all game.

Offensive rebounding was a letdown, though, and helped the Blue Devils pull away in the second half and keep their big lead. The Irish allowed Duke to rebound 40 percent of its misses – more than 15 percent above what they normally give up – fueling 11 second-chance points. They came into the game ranked 25th in defensive rebounding rate and plummeted to 46th.

3. Blake Wesley struggles again

Notre Dame’s best NBA prospect needed to deliver a strong game against a team full of NBA prospects.

Instead, freshman guard Blake Wesley looked hurried all evening. He had just six points on 3-of-15 shooting. The 14 NBA teams in the building saw more examples of him needing to add more strength than they did of his burst and open-floor playmaking. Duke’s size made life at the rim difficult for him.

One wonders if Wesley is hitting a freshman wall after his last three games. He is 8-of-42 from the field with 35 total points since a 22-point explosion Jan. 22 at Louisville, frequently looking sped up and overly eager. His defense remains steady, and he has a 12-to-4 assist-turnover ratio in that span, but he’s in need of a reset.

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