"Running" Irish Ready For ACC Tournament
Mike Brey's squad - and their "no-huddle" offense, as he coined it Monday - are primed for another run in the ACC tournament.
Notre Dame earned the No. 4 overall seed in the postseason event, with their first game following a double-bye scheduled for a 2 p.m. ET tipoff on Thursday in Washington, D.C. They await the winner of Duke vs. NC State/Wake Forest, which will be played Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET.
The top storyline entering the contest is Notre Dame's new uptempo style of play, unveiled in its 89-75 win over NC State March 5. The Irish pushed the pace most of the afternoon in the 14-point win, utilizing both star junior guard Demetrius Jackson and sophomore reserve Matt Farrell to speed up the offense and flow.
It was an impressive success. The 72 possessions played were the second-highest of the season, and the offense got back on track with 1.24 points per possession, ranking in the top one-third of Notre Dame performances this season.
"We've got some great athletes on our team," Jackson said. "I think it's really good for our team as a whole.
"It gets us a lot of great looks and it really gets us going; it creates a sense of urgency. We look like we have more life. It's been good for us."
Analytics point to some interesting trends regarding the Irish and their tempo. Consider the following...
· The Irish are 12-0 in games played with 67 possessions or more this year, compared to 8-10 in games with 66 possessions or less.
· That 12-0 mark includes Notre Dame's wins at Duke, vs. North Carolina, at Clemson, vs. Virginia Tech, and at Illinois among others.
· The 8-10 cluster does include the Irish's victories vs. Louisville and vs. Iowa, but most of the rest were much lower-ranked opponents.
So is 67 possessions or more a magic number for Notre Dame to shoot for? Brey says "not really".
"I was intrigued - I know we had more possessions the other night [vs. NC State] and it was up," Brey said. "But probably what we're still learning is if we don't have it in that initial thrust, we can swing it a couple times and still get something.
"But at least it has us playing downhill, and we get some easy buckets in transition instead of playing against a set defense. But no real - I don't wanna get too 'analytic'. I just like how we're flowing."
It's important to note for context, 67 possessions is not necessarily a fast bar to set. Notre Dame's season average of 65.8 ranks 316th nationally, compared to an estimated average of 72 ranks in the top 50 in the country.
Nevertheless, that data does suggest that as long as the Irish don't play down with the absolute bottom teams in all of college basketball in pace, they've been in good shape most nights this year.
It's also vital to recognize the Irish aren't built to just "run, run, run," like they did against NC State - especially trying to alter the play-style this late in the year. They're still going to have to pick their spots to slow it down.
"Definitely when the guys are tired, that's the first one," said Jackson, on the times he'll have to select to rein the Irish back in during a game. "When you can see guys are winded because we're playing hard on both ends of the floor.
"Then also those final minutes, especially when it's a close game situation, you have to make sure you're really executing and get great shots everytime.
"Also, say if we get three stops in a row, making sure we really get that last bucket and execute on that last stop."
Assuming Duke is able to defeat the winner of NC State vs. Wake Forest, the Irish will get a rematch with the Blue Devils on Thursday. In the regular season matchup, Notre Dame won 95-91 in a 70-possession game - Notre Dame's fifth-fastest contest of the year.
That tilt was also the Irish's most efficient of the year, who averaged an astounding 1.35 points per possession over the full 40 minutes.
So if history is any indication at least, the Irish can run with Duke - and run with them well.
Brey said the team will practice Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. and play a fast scrimmage, to try to "get a feel" for the court prior to Thursday's game. Their Thurs. tilt at 2 p.m. ET will be televised live on ESPN.