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Texas Tech basketball: What to know about Notre Dame

By Matthew Conner

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 10: head coach Mike Brey of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish reacts during the first half against the Virginia Tech Hokies in the 2022 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament - Quarterfinals at Barclays Center on March 10, 2022 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 10: head coach Mike Brey of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish reacts during the first half against the Virginia Tech Hokies in the 2022 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament - Quarterfinals at Barclays Center on March 10, 2022 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /
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SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 18: Blake Wesley #0 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the second half in the first round game of the 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena at San Diego State University on March 18, 2022 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 18: Blake Wesley #0 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the second half in the first round game of the 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena at San Diego State University on March 18, 2022 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

The Irish are not a deep team

One area where Tech may be able to take advantage of a Notre Dame team that is playing its third game in five days is when it comes to depth.  That’s because while Tech runs eight or nine players out on a regular basis, ND plays only seven.  What’s more, six ND players are averaging over 27 minutes per game.

6-foot-5 guard Blake Wesley leads the Irish in scoring at 14.5 points per game.  A freshman playing for his hometown team, he’s got 28 double-digit games on the season while topping the 20-point mark eight times.

Another 6-foot-5 guard, Cormac Ryan, from New York City, is certainly a player to watch after what he did against Alabama.  Scoring 29 points on 10-13 shooting, he’s averaging 22.5 points per game in the NCAA Tournament so far.  Needless to say, he will have Tech’s full attention, especially when he is beyond the arc as he’s already hit nine 3-pointers in this year’s tournament (7 against Bama).

Inside, the Irish have a pair of 6-foot-10 big men.  Both Nate Laszewski (9.5 p.p.g.) and Paul Atkinson (12.8 p.p.g) are threats to score but neither is considered a dominant inside force.  In fact. Laszewski is more likely to get his offense from the perimeter as a 46.7% 3-point shooter.

He’s also been a factor in the tournament thus far putting up 14 points per game, including 18 against Rutgers in the First Four.  Thus, Tech will have to make certain to know where he is at all times when he’s in the game.

Earlier this year, we saw Tech play one of its most lethargic games of the year at Kansas State in what was the team’s third game of that calendar week.  Hopefully, that will be the case for Notre Dame on Sunday as they will be playing their third game in six days including one that was played halfway across the country.  So let’s see if Tech’s depth can wear down what should be a rather fatigued ND squad.

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