Indiana is known for basketball like Wisconsin is known for dairy, so the Crossroads Classic that’s been held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse every year since 2011 always feels like an early Christmas present for local hoops fans. Notre Dame (8-3) has split its first eight appearances, and this year, it faces Indiana (10-1), which came back to beat the Irish in overtime when these teams last met in the event in 2017. The Hoosiers have won three of the teams’ four Crossroads Classic meetings.
The Irish have been hot from 3-point range, making 35 3s over their past two games, a school record for that span. No Notre Dame team ever had made at least 15 3-pointers in back-to-back games until last week.
Dane Goodwin has been superb off the bench in the first half, scoring 16 in that frame against Detroit Mercy, followed by 14 in the win over UCLA, which was Mike Brey’s 800th career game.