Men's Basketball: It's Duke and Notre Dame. Here what you need to know
Tom NoieMEN’S BASKETBALL
► WHO: No. 9 Duke (17-3 overall; 7-2 ACC) vs. Notre Dame (14-6; 7-2)
► WHERE: Purcell Pavilion (9,149)
► WHEN: Monday at 7 p.m.
► TV: ESPN
► RADIO: WSBT (960 AM).
► TICKETS: None available. The game is a sellout.
► ONLINE: Follow every Notre Dame game with live updates from Tribune beat writer Tom Noie at twitter.com/tnoieNDI.
► NOTING: Freshman guard A.J. Griffin scored 22 points, including 5-of-5 from 3, and power forwards Mark Williams (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Paolo Banchero (11 points, 15 rebounds) each tallied their fifth double double of the season in a 74-65 victory Saturday at Louisville. The game was tied at 60 with eight-plus minutes remaining before the Blue Devils went on a 12-0 run. Duke shot .441 percent from the field, .300 percent from 3 and .444 percent from the free throw line. The Duke traveling party returned to Durham following Saturday’s game. It wasn’t scheduled to arrive in South Bend until around 9 p.m. Sunday in advance of Monday’s game. … Banchero has scored double figures in all 20 games. He has been named league freshman of the week an ACC best five times. Banchero was the preseason pick for league player and freshman of the year. … Notre Dame freshman guard Blake Wesley has garnered three ACC freshman of the week honors. … Duke has won three straight and five of its last six. … The Blue Devils are 2-2 on the road in league play with losses at Florida State and Miami (Fla.). … This is the first Saturday-Monday swing for Duke and the third for Notre Dame, which is 3-2. … Duke returned three starters off last year’s team that finished 13-11 overall, 9-9 and 10th place in the ACC. It marked the first time that the Blue Devils missed the NCAA tournament since 1995. They won at least 25 games in each of the previous 13 seasons. … Duke was picked this preseason to finish first in the ACC and received 47 first-place votes; Notre Dame was picked eighth. … This is the only scheduled game between the teams during the regular season. …. Duke has been ranked in every Associated Press poll this season, and as high as No. 1 for one week in late November. The Blue Devils spent six weeks inside the top three of the AP. … Monday marks only the second game against a ranked team this season for Notre Dame, which beat Kentucky at home in December. The Irish have won two straight home games against ranked teams dating back to last year’s regular-season finale against then-No. 11 Florida State. … There currently are no ranked teams remaining on Notre Dame’s schedule. … This game was originally scheduled to be played New Year’s Day but was postponed after Duke’s program went on a health/safety protocol pause. … This closes a three-game league homestand for Notre Dame, which is 9-0 at home following Saturday’s win over Virginia. … This is the first Purcell Pavilion sellout since Jan. 28, 2019 against Duke.
►QUOTING: “This is our house; we want to protect it.” — Notre Dame senior power forward Paul Atkinson, Jr., on staying perfect (9-0) at Purcell Pavilion this season following Saturday's 69-65 win over Virignia.
— Tom Noie
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on Twitter: @tnoieNDI