By Harry Barsan

Louisville will head to South Bend, Indiana to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

The Irish have been streaky this year, having won all but two games (including Wednesday’s match against Boston College) as a part of larger winning streaks.

Shamrockin!

Contrary to what Micah Shrewsberry teams have been come to be known by, this Irish squad can score the rock.

Notre Dame is top six in the ACC in both three-point percentage (36.9%) and field goal percentage (45.9%), yet only manage 73.8 points per game. They definitely make the most of their possessions, as their offensive rating is 68th but have the 318th ranked tempo.

In their few possessions, the majority are drawn up for star player and former Indiana Mr. Basketball Markus Burton, who won the ACC’s Rookie of the Year last season and made the all-ACC third team.

He averages an ACC-high 21.3 points, which is sixth in the nation. Burton has failed to reach 20 points in just two games since his injury in late Nov., and is fresh off of a 32-point performance at Boston College.

Burton’s definitely a volume-scorer, as though he leads the team with 17.2 shots and 7.4 three a game. This gives him the eighth highest usage rate and the third highest shot rate in the country.

The remaining bulk of their offense comes from former Louisville-commit Tae Davis and Braeden Shrewsberry.

Davis has taken a massive step forward, elevating to the team’s second leading scorer and doing an incredible amount of damage at the free throw line. Davis only 75.5% from the charity stripe, but he is 83rd in the country at fouls drawn per 40 minutes.

Shrewsberry has been slightly disappointing, only taking a slight step forward after his impressive freshman season. He’s still primarily a threat from the outside, but he has the burst to be able to drive past his man when guarded too close.

The Princeton-transfer Matt Allocco has been sensational from deep, as he has been known for his averaging a phenomenal 47.3% which is 15th best nationally. The only problem for the Irish has been getting him looks. Allocco only takes a few shots from deep a game as the offense rarely sets him up and he doesn’t have the athleticism to create his own looks.

Allocco has missed the last three games with injury, so his impact may quite literally be nothing. If he doesn’t play, the Cards will really only have to focus on the big three to slow down this Irish offense.

Better days

What was a stingy defense a year ago is now average at best.

Giving up 70.7 points a game on the 145th ranked defensive efficiency, the Irish don’t give themselves much breathing room on the other end of the court.

The Irish put up a fight against the three, but that’s about it. Opponents shoot a 31.7% clip from deep, but eat up the interior with a 53.3%.

As is expected with such a high two-point percentage given up, Notre Dame cannot block a shot to save their lives. Davis, being one of their biggest interior defenders, only have one block on the season.

Burton leads the team with 1.8 steals a game, but the Irish as a team are awful this year at forcing turnovers. Notre Dame has a defensive turnover rate of 15.4%, ranking 300th nationally.

Perhaps the biggest hole in the defense is Allocco, who cannot stay in front of players for the life of him. If he plays, expect Louisville to play the whoever-offense on him.

Louisville is expected to win by a somewhat comfortable margin, but Notre Dame is still extremely well coached. The Cards have also historically had a tough time in South Bend, only getting two victories all-time since the two teams have been conference-mates.

However, a win would put the Cards at 20-6 on the season and 13-2 in the ACC. A 13-2 conference record would not only be the Cards’ best record in a conference through 15 games in program history, but it would clinch at least a single-bye for Louisville in the conference tournament.

Tip-off is scheduled for Sunday in South Bend at 8 p.m.

Photo Courtesy // Mallory Peak, Louisville Athletics