6-8. A player era filled with new opportunities – Notre Dame Fighting Irish – Official Athletics Website

LAS VEGAS – What an opportunity for the Notre Dame men’s basketball team this Thanksgiving week, both on the court and in NIL opportunities. The Players Era Festival – the first of its kind – debuts on Tuesday with plenty of hoops for fans to enjoy. Eight teams have been divided into two groups of four. The Fighting Irish will compete in the Impact Division with a Tuesday night game against Rutgers, followed by a late Wednesday (Thanksgiving morning for those Eastern Time) against the top-10 Houston squad. Saturday’s opponent is TBD and will be based on group stage results.

The Fighting Irish (4-1) and Scarlet Knights (4-1) will tip off at 10:30 PM ET on TBS on November 26. Both teams come to Las Vegas looking to avenge their respective first losses of the season. Rutgers was ranked No. 24 in the AP poll, but slipped right after the Kennesaw State upset this past Sunday afternoon.

Notre Dame leads the overall series with Rutgers, 21-13, with a 6-2 record on neutral courts. The last meeting between the two was a memorable one – an 89-87 double-overtime victory at the First Four round in Dayton to propel the Irish into the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

Next, Notre Dame and Houston are tied 4-4 in the overall series. The two haven’t clashed on the hardwood since Feb. 10, 1990. The Cougars are 3-1 on the year and ranked sixth in the nation in the latest AP poll.

Now, the last time the Irish picked up a top-10 neutral site victory — it was against No. 6 Wichita State to win the 2017 Maui Invitational.

After Wednesday’s games, each group will be ranked from first to fourth, and by head-to-head record, seeding will be determined by total point difference in group play (limited to 20 points per game), then total points scored and fewest points allowed. . The top seeds from each division must face off in the championship game, with the rest of the standings filling out the third, fifth and seventh spots.

IMPACT DIVISION

Tuesday 26 November

Houston vs. Alabama – 8:00 PM (EST) | TBS, Max

Rutgers vs. Notre Dame – 10:30 PM (EST) | TBS, Max

Wednesday, November 27

Rutgers vs. Alabama – 10:00 PM (EST) | TBS, Max

Notre Dame vs. Houston – 12:30 AM (EST) | TBS, Max

BURTON WARMS UP

Burton enters the Vegas tournament on back-to-back 20+ point games. In fact, he scored 54 points last week on a combined 23-for-38 shooting aka 60.5 percent. He went 6-for-11 from deep, including a career-best four made triples against Elon.

In Notre Dame’s 75-58 win over North Dakota, Burton was just shy of a career-high and rebound shy of his first career double-double. Burton dropped 29 points and also tied his career high in rebounds with nine.

He is currently the only player in the country averaging 20+ points, 5+ assists and 5+ rebounds. His 21.4 ppg ranks 19th nationally and second in the ACC.

NOT LAST YEAR’S CRIME

Despite the Elon hiccup, it’s abundantly clear that this isn’t last year’s offense and the player development/offensive progression is there. For example, Notre Dame has now scored 75+ points in each of its first five games for the first time since the start of the 2009-10 season. .

The Irish are shooting 51.9 percent from the field, which ranks 14th nationally and leads the ACC. They also shoot a hot 61.0 percent from two, which is 17th in the country.

Diving Deeper – Notre Dame is one of the best mid-range shooting teams in the country. They convert 62.9 percent from the midrange that ranks fourth nationally.

CBB Analytics has Notre Dame’s offensive rating at 122.3, which is 34th in the nation. KenPom’s offensive efficiency rankings place the Irish at no. 51.

BRAEDEN’S OFFENSIVE GAME

We know what Breaden is capable of from three. Last season, he drained 55 three-pointers in conference play, which set a new program record for ACC three-pointers. This season, he is averaging a team-best 2.4 made threes per game. He shoots a hot 54.5 percent in corner threes and 37.5 percent overall from deep.

But Braeden has attacked the basket and driven more in year two. He is shooting 68.2 percent from two-point range. Thus, he shoots 50.0 percent from the field overall. Finally, his 14.8 ppg is second only to Burton.

TAE-KING OVER

Tae Davis is the third and final Irish to average in double figures at 12.4 ppg. He’s shooting 56.7 percent from two, including 65.0 percent at the rim.

In the Buffalo win, he had a career-high 27 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Plus he drained a career-best 12-of-13 from the free throw line. Davis got it done in crunch time, too, scoring 13 of Notre Dame’s final 15 points. He followed that up with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the Georgetown road win. He grabbed a team-high eight boards.

Tae’s numbers are also up due to his yearly improvement from the free throw line. This year he is shooting 84.6 percent (22-26). A season ago, Tae was 72.3 percent from the stripe.

— ND —