Slumping Notre Dame looks to rebound vs. streaking Marist

Field Level Media|published: Thu 21st December, 20:11 2023

Dec 9, 2023; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Markus Burton (3) during the game against the Marquette Golden Eagles at Fiserv Forum. credits: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

What should have been a relatively favorable portion of the schedule might end up adding to Notre Dame's recent struggles.

The reeling Fighting Irish look to avoid a fourth straight loss Friday night in South Bend, Ind., against Marist, which has won five in a row.

Notre Dame (4-7) lost 78-59 to then-No 8 Marquette on Dec. 9 but felt it had a solid opportunity to bounce back with middling Georgetown in town, then a pair of winnable contests against mid-major foes to follow. However, the Irish fell by four in overtime to the Hoyas, then were embarrassed 65-45 by The Citadel on Tuesday, 65-45.

First-year Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry was beside himself about the latter, when his team set season lows for points, field-goal percentage (26.6) and assists (six) against The Citadel. A loser in five of its last six games, Notre Dame has averaged 57.3 points on 34.1-percent shooting from the field and is 20-for-91 (22 percent) from 3-point range in the last three games.

"We're building a culture, and that ain't it," Shrewsberry said. "So a message needs to be sent to some of these guys. If you don't play hard, then you can sit and rot over there on the bench."

Shrewsberry currently has confidence in are local freshman Markus Burton (15.5 points per game), and overachieving sophomore J.R. Konieczny (10.2 ppg, 5.8 rebounds per game). The latter has totaled 31 points and 18 rebounds in the last two games.

Things don't expect to get any easier against Marist (7-2), which looks to win six straight for the first time since February 2022. The Red Foxes have allowed an average of 54.8 points, and opponents to shoot 34.6-percent overall — 23.2 percent from distance — during the five-game winning streak.

"From Day One, it's definitely been defensively minded," Marist junior forward Jackson Price said. "That's never really went away."

Price had a season-high 19 points during Marist's 76-52 home rout of Maryland Eastern Shore on Monday. Teammate Josh Pascarelli is averaging 18.3 points while shooting 12 of 25 from 3-point range in the last three games.

—Field Level Media