This is your classic two-for-one scenario for Notre Dame men’s basketball.
Among the most challenging games every season for the Irish are the first game back after break for final exams and the last game before Christmas, which often means the last non-conference game before league play.
This year, that last and first scenario is wrapped into one game – Sunday at home against LeMoyne. Notre Dame has been off for 10 days for finals and gets another eight days away after this one before Atlantic Coast Conference play resumes against Georgia Tech on New Year’s Eve in Atlanta.
This one is never easy, for reasons other than basketball.
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When channel is Notre Dame basketball vs LeMoyne?
TV Channel: ACC Network
Radio: WSBT (960 AM)
Notre Dame basketball vs LeMoyne start time
Date: Sunday, Dec. 22
Start time: 6 p.m. ET
ONLINE: Follow every Notre Dame game with live updates from Tribune beat writer Tom Noie at X (formerly Twitter) at twitter.com/tnoieNDI and at Bluesky at @tomnoie.bsky.social.
Three pressing questions for Notre Dame
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If they play a men’s college basketball game at Notre Dame two days after hosting the first College Football Playoff game in history, will anyone notice?
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Can the Irish lock in for one more non-conference test?
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When might we see sophomore point guard Markus Burton again?
Scouting the Dolphins
Sophomore guard A.J. Dancler scored 20 points with three rebounds and LeMoyne scored 38 points in the paint in Wednesday’s 80-76 victory at Dartmouth. The Dolphins (5-8) shot .509 percent from the field, .409 percent from 3 and .722 percent from the foul line. … LeMoyne College is a school of 3,500 in DeWitt, New York, just east of Syracuse. When founded in 1946, it was the first co-educational Jesuit college in the United States. … LeMoyne returned four starters off last year’s team that finished 15-17 overall, 9-7 and tied for fourth in the Northeast Conference. The Dolphins were picked this preseason in a vote of league coaches to finish fourth in the nine-team league. … Former Notre Dame power forward, team captain and graduate Elijah Burns is in his first season as a Dolphins assistant coach.
By the Numbers
2: LeMoyne is the second NEC team to visit South Bend this season. Notre Dame opened with an 89-60 victory over Stonehill.
3: Head coach Nate Champion, a 33-year-old native of Logansport, Indiana and in his fifth season as head coach, is one of three players in school history with at least 1,150 points, 350 assists and 350 rebounds in his playing career. He’s a 2014 LeMoyne graduate.
10: Miles between LeMoyne’s home gym, Ted Grant Court, which seats 1,460 and the JMA Wireless Dome on the campus of Syracuse University, which seats 33,000.
163: Games won by long-time basketball coach John Beilein at LeMoyne, where he served as head coach for nine seasons (1983-92).
Keep an eye on …
Former Notre Dame guard and graduate Robby Carmody is averaging 11.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 22.7 minutes per game in eight games with seven starts in his first season with the Dolphins as a grad transfer. Carmody played in 23 games over his four seasons at Notre Dame and averaged 3.1 points and 1.2 rebounds in 8.8 minutes per game. He shot .393 percent from the field, .059 percent (1-for-17) from 3 and .676 percent from the foul line.
Carmody missed extensive time at Notre Dame with knee and shoulder injuries. He played last season at Mercer, where he appeared in 29 games with 19 starts and averaged 7.5 points and 1.9 rebounds in 17.4 minutes.
Quoting the Dolphins
“The skill level that we had last year was very high, and our IQ level was high, so as far as being efficient, taking care of the ball … if you do that in our offense, you’re going to score some points.”
-Head coach Nate Champion in Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.
Series history
These teams have never met.
Scouting the Irish
Notre Dame has been idle since a 77-65 victory over Dartmouth on December 11. Small forward Tae Davis scored 20 points with 10 rebounds for his first career double double and guard Braeden Shrewsberry added 22 points on four-of-nine from 3. … The Irish are still without point guard Markus Burton, out indefinitely with an MCL injury to his right knee. … The Irish rank 13th in the 18-team ACC in scoring offense (74.45) and 11th in scoring defense (70.00). … A win would give the Irish three straight victories for the second time this season. Last year, Notre Dame won three in a row only once.
By the Numbers
1-2: Guards Braeden Shrewsberry and Matt Allocco rank first and second in the ACC in minutes played – 35.18 and 34.95.
3: Junior small forward Tae Davis ranks third in the ACC in field goal percentage (.527).
22: After playing 10 games over the first 35 days of the regular season, Notre Dame is in a stretch of two games in 22 days.
50: Percentage from 3 over the last two games for Shrewsberry, who is 10-for-20 from behind the arc. He ranks second in the ACC for 3-pointers made (33) and third in percentage (.359).
Keep an eye on …
Graduate student guard Matt Allocco and his search for some sort of scoring consistency. Allocco scored 16 points last time out against Dartmouth. In the four games that have followed games in which he scored double figures, Allocco has scored a combined 18 points.
Allocco is currently averaging 9.9 ppg., fourth in the team. He’s second in the ACC in assist/turnover ratio (3.60).
Quoting the Irish
“This is the best time to add some things. This is the best time to throw some wrinkles in. There are a couple other things that I want to do with this team that can be pretty good for us defensively, and some things offensively, too. We can toy with some things and we can try and make it tough on people.”
-Irish head coach Micah Shrewsberry on the big gaps between games
Looking ahead
A winner in its ACC opener on Dec. 7, Notre Dame returns to league play for the rest of the 2024-25 season with a visit to Georgia Tech on Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 2:30 p.m. (ACC Network).
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame men’s basketball vs. LeMoyne: Start time, TV channel
