Santa Clara Game Preview: Broncos Travel to Notre Dame
By Josh Horton
Nov 17, 2013; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Eric Atkins (0) looks for instruct from Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey during the second half of the game at Joyce Center. Indiana State Sycamores beat Notre Dame Fighting Irish 83 to 70. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
Santa Clara at Notre Dame
Game time: 6:00 p.m. PST
TV: http://watchnd.tv/#!/games/1736336 or ESPN3.com
Radio: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/santaclara.portal?mode=link#
Teams Records: SCU – 2-1 – ND – 2-1
Leading Scorers: SCU – Clark 23.0 – ND – Grant 19.3
Leading Rebounders: SCU – Brown 8.5 – ND – Connaughton 7.0
Leading Distributors: SCU – Clark 4.0 – ND – Grant 5.3
Projected Starters:
Santa Clara
Brandon Clark
Jared Brownridge
Jalen Richard
Jerry Brown
Yannick Atanga
Notre Dame
Eric Atkins
Pat Connaughton
Jerrian Grant
Garrick Sherman
Tom Knight
Santa Clara will travel to the Midwest to take on a high quality opponent in the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
The Opponent
Notre Dame has a plethora of returners this year, including a stacked backcourt consisting of Eric Atkins, Pat Connaugton, and Jerrian Grant. In their last matchup against Indiana State, Atkins, Connaugton, and Grant played 39, 38, and 37 minutes respectively.
Notre Dame was picked to finish 5th in the ACC, which is perennially one of the best conferences in the nation. Jerrian Grant was picked as a member of the ACC’s preseason All-Conference team.
After wins against Miami Ohio and Stetson, the Fighting Irish were straight up smacked by Indiana State by a score of 83-70. In that game, Notre Dame shot 36.9% from the field, and only 26.9% from three-point range.
Keys to the Game
Keep up with the ND Backcourt
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Both team’s strengths are their backcourts, and each will be utilized heavily throughout this matchup. If leading scorer Brandon Clark and impact freshman Jared Brownridge have one of the best games of their careers, the Broncos have a legitimate shot of beating the Irish.
Browntown
Senior forward and Fresno State transfer Jerry Brown has been solid for Santa Clara thus far in the season. However, it is time for him to break out. Expect Brown to get a shot at the starting lineup, and see a big role in this contest.