Notre Dame seeks to complete a sweep of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s West Coast schools when the Fighting Irish visit Cal on Friday night in Berkeley, Calif.
Each team’s second ACC contest of the season will be a rematch of last year’s final regular-season game, when Notre Dame won an epic 112-110 battle in four overtimes on its home court.
This time around, Fighting Irish coach Micah Shrewsberry is focused on defense, the type that limited Stanford to 23.2% shooting in a 47-40 road win on Tuesday.
“That’s how we need to play,” Shrewsberry told reporters after the win. “If we shoot it well (or) if we don’t shoot it well, if we guard that way, we’ve got a chance to win every night.”
With defense in mind after allowing 72 points in a home loss to Purdue Fort Wayne in its nonconference finale, Shrewsberry inserted Logan Imes into the starting lineup for the first time this season against Stanford.
Imes stuck to Stanford star Ebuka Okorie like glue, spearheading the brilliant defensive effort.
In Cal (12-2, 0-1), Notre Dame (10-4, 1-0) will see a team that struggled defensively in its ACC opener, a 90-70 thrashing at home at the hands of No. 16 Louisville on Tuesday.
The Cardinals bombarded the Cal defense for 48 first-half points, from which the Golden Bears never recovered.
Afterward, Cal coach Mark Madsen assured his team would be better prepared for Notre Dame.
“There were a couple of communication things and I take responsibility for that,” Madsen said. “That’ll (be addressed) in preparation for the next game.”
The loss was Cal’s first in 12 home games this season and snapped a nine-game winning streak. The Golden Bears’ 12-1 start was its best since 1959-60.
Interestingly, neither team had a single starter in common between its ACC opener this week and last year’s head-to-head at Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish are led offensively by freshman Jalen Haralson, who had a team-high 13 points at Stanford. Chris Bell, a transfer from Syracuse who faced Notre Dame twice last season, paced Cal in the Louisville loss with 20 points.
