Syracuse (12-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) comes back home to play Notre Dame (12-3, 2-0) on Saturday afternoon. The Orange is coming off a 73-67 loss to Wake Forest on Wednesday, while the Fighting Irish most recently put an 88-58 beat down on N.C. State.

Here’s what to know about UND.

All-time Series: Syracuse leads, 28-20

Last time they played: Notre Dame handily beat Syracuse, 84-66, in South Bend, Indiana, last season. Tyler Lydon and Andrew White combined for 40 of SU’s points in the matchup. VJ Beachem, who poured in 30 points, led the Fighting Irish.

The Notre Dame Report: There’s a few ways to look at this Notre Dame team.

On one hand, it’s currently unranked after being No. 14 in the preseason. UND was beaten soundly in its biggest test of the year against Michigan State in late November and then dropped two disappointing games to Ball State and Indiana.

On the other hand, the Fighting Irish are still ranked as the 17th best team per Kenpom.com. UND’s average per game scoring margin is 16.2 and it’s ranked inside the Top 50 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency. Notre Dame has a balanced team that shoots 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from deep and is the second-best team in the country in limiting turnovers, per Kenpom.

The key for this UND team is that it’ll be down its two best players on Saturday. Bonzie Colson — named the preseason ACC Player of the Year and ranked second in Kenpom’s player of the year standings behind only Oklahoma standout freshman guard Trae Young — fractured his foot and is expected to miss eight weeks, the school announced on Tuesday. Point guard Matt Farrell injured his ankle against N.C. State and will also miss Saturday’s game.

“Everybody that’s on that bench … all those guys need to be ready,” associate head coach Rod Balanis said after Colson’s injury. “I think, in a sh*tty way because we lost a great player yesterday, sometimes it gives those guys who are hungry for minutes a little bit of life. There was a little bit of juice yesterday at practice. So, we’ll see how that plays out.”

How Syracuse beats Notre Dame: Dominate the boards. Syracuse has been one of the best rebounding teams in the country this season. Its 41 rebounds per game are good for 16th in the nation and third in the ACC, only behind powerhouses Duke and North Carolina.

Meanwhile, if there’s one area the Fighting Irish are just average in, it’s rebounding. UND’s offensive (28.5) and defensive (29.2) rebounding percentage rank 198th and 186th, respectively, per Kenpom. Syracuse is the fourth-best offensive rebounding team in the country per that metric. We’ve seen Syracuse’s offense struggle at points this season, but if the Orange can corral some of those misses, it could go a long way toward helping SU win.

Stat to know: 37.3 points per game

That’s how many points Notre Dame is losing with Colson and Farrell, the two leading scorers, out on Saturday. Additionally, Colson leads the team in rebounds (10.4) steals (2.0) and blocks (2.4) while Farrell leads the team in assists (5.1)

Kenpom odds: Kenpom gives Syracuse a 49-percent chance of winning and predicts a 65-64 Notre Dame victory.

Player to watch: TJ Gibbs, guard, No. 10

As a freshman last year, Gibbs averaged 4.7 points per game on just 37.5 percent shooting. Against Syracuse, he came in for eight minutes and recorded just one defensive rebound, one steal and three turnovers.

Gibbs has taken a major step forward this year, though. Aside from Colson and Farrell, he’s the only other UND player averaging double-digit points. He’s averaged 14.6 points per game while shooting 47.2 percent both overall and on 3-pointers. With Notre Dame’s two best players unavailable, Gibbs will be its leading option.

Published on January 5, 2018 at 11:49 am

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