That 6-1 start is feeling more like a distant memory.
After Notre Dame lost to Syracuse in its ACC opener, Orange coach Jim Boeheim said that the Irish don’t really have a post presence. While we don’t know if Georgia coach Mike White read or heard that quote from the Hall of Famer, he opted to exploit that deficiency in the Irish’s makeup when his team played them during Holiday Hoopsgiving in Atlanta. The plan worked, and a 77-62 loss means the Irish have dropped three of four so far in December.
The Irish (7-4) saw the Bulldogs (8-3) start a three-guard lineup, but it was the two starters down low that did the most damage. Center Braelen Bridges and forward Matthew-Alexander Moncriffe combined to go a perfect 15 of 15 from the field and score 18 and 15 points respectively. That undoubtedly contributed to the Bulldogs’ 40-22 advantage in points in the paint. If that wasn’t enough, the Bulldogs won the rebounding battle, 35-25.
The post wasn’t the Irish’s only kryptonite in this game. [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag]’s decision to have only seven players in his rotation once again became a disadvantage. Five of the six Bulldogs who came off the bench played at least 10 minutes, and they made of the most of their time on the floor. Jabri Abdur-Rahim had 12 points to go with a game-high 11 rebounds, and the Bulldogs’ reserves outscored the Irish’s, 27-4.
[autotag]Nate Laszewski[/autotag] led all scorers with 20 points, including four 3-pointers. [autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag] scored 15, and [autotag]JJ Starling[/autotag] added 14.
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