Notre Dame Men’s Basketball Preview and Game Thread: Irish VS Marquette Golden Eagles

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish get another game on home court today as it hosts its old Big East rivals, the Marquette Golden Eagles.

Notre Dame suffered its first home loss of the season to Syracuse last week, but got back to winning against Boston University. That game against the Terriers proved just how much the Irish still need to improve as they let another strong lead dwindle to a big fight in the end.

As the saying goes... winning is hard.

Nate Laszewski remains Notre Dame’s leading scorer and rebounder, but Dane Goodwin and Cormac Ryan have both been very good from behind the arc, shooting 50% and 45% respectively. Freshman Ven-Allen Lubin has been a big help inside both as a rebounder and shot-blocker — and also as a scorer averaging over 8 points a game.

Despite Michigan State’s ranking before Notre Dame pounded them, this game against Marquette will be the toughest challenge to date for the Irish.

ODDS

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Irish are 1.5 point home underdogs to the Golden Eagles with an OVER/UNDER of 145.

MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES

Head Coach: Shaka Smart (2nd season)
Season Record: 5-4
Key Players: G Kam Jones (15.5 ppg), F Olivier-Maxence Prosper (15.1 ppg), G Tyler Kolek (8 apg)
Quick Overview: Marquette has had a good start to the season, but ran into three tough opponents for losses in Purdue, Mississippi State, and Wisconsin. The did, however, tear apart #6 Baylor in a 96-70 win. This Golden Eagles team can score a lot of points, and do it by distributing the ball all around its 8-man rotation.

WHEN, WHERE, AND HOW TO WATCH

When: Sunday, December 11, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Purcell Pavilion, South Bend, Indiana
How to Watch: ESPN2

GAME THREAD

The game thread is open below. I know many of us are on Twitter for most of the game, but I encourage you to vent and do other things that require more than 280 characters here.