On Wednesday at 6:00 PM PT on ESPNU, Stanford men’s basketball will take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on the road in South Bend, Indiana. Stanford comes in at 19-10 overall and 11-7 in the ACC while Notre Dame comes in at 12-17 overall and 6-12 in the ACC.
Last time out: Stanford defeated SMU on Saturday 73-68 for Senior Day. Stanford senior big man Maxime Raynaud had 26 points, 4 rebounds, & 4 blocks.
RECAP: Stanford MBB takes care of business against SMU on Senior Day
On Notre Dame: The Irish have had a rough season as their record indicates. They’re 9-5 at home, but they really struggle away from South Bend as they are 3-9 in true road games and 0-3 in neutral site games. They are currently on a two game losing streak, losing to Clemson and Wake Forest on the road.
The Irish are led by sophomore guard Markus Burton, who is averaging 21.1 points per game on 45.1% shooting from the field, 37.3% shooting from 3-point range, & 86.8% shooting from the foul line. The number two scorer for the Irish is Junior forward Tae Davis, who is averaging 15.8 points & 5.4 rebounds per game.
The Irish suffered a major blow with the loss of sophomore guard Braeden Shrewsberry, who was averaging 14.0 points per game as the number three scorer on the team. He went down with a lower abdominal strain a couple weeks back against SMU and is done for the season. With him out, that puts even more pressure on Burton and Davis.
As a team, the Irish average 73.0 points per game on 45.8% shooting from the field, 35.8% shooting from 3-point range, and 74.7% shooting from the foul line. They average 34.5 rebounds, 11.8 assists, 5.5 steals, 1.7 blocks, and 11.1 turnovers per game. They also average a +2.8 rebound margin and a -1.0 turnover margin per game. Their opponents average 72.3 points per game on 45.4.% shooting from the field, 32.2% shooting from 3-point range, and 75.5% shooting from the field.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is simply feed the big man. When they struggle, it’s often due to Maxime Raynaud having a quiet performance. If Raynaud can put up a game that is above his average (22 points & 11 rebounds) that would be huge.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is win the rebound battle. Stanford is used to out-rebounding their opponents by +1.9. If they can grab more boards than Notre Dame, that would be huge.
Finally, Stanford needs to stay out of foul trouble. Guards Jaylen Blakes and Benny Gealer both got into foul trouble last game. If Stanford can avoid that and not get anyone else in foul trouble, that would be really nice. Especially with this being on the road.
Prediction: On paper, Stanford should win this game. Especially with Shrewsberry out. I think it’ll be close, but I’ll pick Stanford to win 73-70.
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