Stonehill (1-0) at Notre Dame (0-0)

Date: November 6th

Time: 7:00 p.m. ET

Where: Purcell Pavilion | Notre Dame, Ind.

TV: ACC Network Network Extra | Tyler Riedy and Bill Fenlon

Line: Notre Dame -26.5

O/U: 138.5

QUICK FACTS

– Notre Dame leads the all-time series 2-0.

– The Irish won the last meeting in 1982 with 74:60.

– Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry has a 13-20 record in the blue and gold.

– The Irish are scoring 85.6 percent of their points from a year ago.

– Sophomore guard Markus Burton was named preseason All-ACC First Team.

– Notre Dame enters the 2024-25 season with 1,964 wins.

– Stonehill won its first game of the season 81-62 against Framingham State on Monday night.

PROJECTED STARTERS

Notre Dame

Stonehill

preview

It's the second year of the Micah Shrewsberry era and there are expectations for the Notre Dame program. The Irish return one of the ACC's top players in Markus Burton while bolstering depth through the transfer portal and recruiting with key additions.

The Irish struggled offensively a year ago, and those concerns appear to be no longer present heading into Wednesday's season opener against Stonehill. In fact, Shrewsberry expects Notre Dame to look completely different offensively.

“I think our pace has improved,” Shrewsberry said. “I think we’re not afraid to take a shot when there’s 27 seconds left on the shot clock. It will happen. We'll get the ball out of the net, kick it forward and someone will shoot a three-pointer off a pass with 27 on the clock, and I'm okay with that. I saw our guys and saw how they worked and what they did.

“I think our biggest improvement is our ball movement, the way we share the ball with each other. I've always talked about how we want to be a high assist team and we never achieved that last year. I think we had 19 the other night and I think against Xavier we were maybe at 22. We want to be a high assist team. You can do that when the ball is moving.”

Even in the second year there is a comfort level. Notre Dame's players are familiar with the training structure, offense, defense and everything in between.

“I think the group has become a lot more mature in terms of the way we've handled everyday life and not having to overdo it,” Shrewsberry said. “There are some people who need a lot of work. Some guys don't need a lot of work, and there are days where we take 30 minutes for new guys and freshmen just to do defensive drills that maybe some of the older guys wouldn't do.

“It's completely different. I think part of it is due to the maturity of the older ones, and part of it is due to the younger ones growing and understanding, “Hey, this is what we need to be good.” We're still trying , to reach this point, but at least we know what we need to be good. And that’s what we have to do every day.”

Perhaps the biggest change will be the fact that Burton doesn't have to do everything. A year ago, Burton averaged 17.5 ppg en route to ACC Rookie of the Year honors.

Burton's production is expected to remain high this season, but with more talent around him, the Indiana native can be more efficient, and that starts with having an experienced guard at his side in Matt Allocco.

“I think they really helped each other,” Shrewsberry said. “Mush (Allocco) just fits in. Whatever is needed is what he does. If there are possessions where we could use a bucket, he can sense it. How can I help Markus get us a bucket here? At the moment he (Burton) doesn't feel like he has to do everything himself. He makes other people think about him to trick him. We didn’t have the ability to do that last year.”

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