Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Hear the coach’s thoughts on the tough loss.
SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame hung with Syracuse the entire time during its ACC opener. In the end, it wasn’t enough as the Orange squeaked out a 62-61 victory. [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] spoke with the media afterwards to talk about the loss. Here is some of what he had to say:
Not a great way to begin conference play.
SOUTH BEND — Coming into its ACC opener, Notre Dame had to know 6-foot-11 Syracuse center Jesse Edwards would be a problem. After all, he entered Saturday’s game as the conference’s leading rebounder and shot blocker. However, the Irish also needed to take his scoring ability into account. Even if they did, it didn’t matter as Edwards dominated in what became a nail-biting 62-61 Orange victory.
[autotag]Marcus Hammond[/autotag], making his Irish debut in a leg brace, capped a 6-0 run for the Irish in the final minute with a layup that just fell through the basket with 29 seconds left. Having also drawn a foul on the play, he hit a free throw to give the Irish a 61-60 lead, erasing what had been a five-point deficit moments earlier.
Out of a timeout, the Orange’s Judah Mintz, who mostly had been held in check, made a go-ahead basket with 14 seconds left. The Irish took a timeout and then saw the Orange use up their fouls to give. Ultimately, a [autotag]Dane Goodwin[/autotag] corner shot at the buzzer missed, and the Irish had their first home loss of the season.
Neither team led by more than five points the entire game, but it was the Irish (6-2, 0-1), who ended up making the more costly mistakes. They committed 10 turnovers and shot only 38.3% from the field. Edwards was happy to take advantage of that as he dominated the paint during a 22-point, 14-rebound afternoon at Purcell Pavilion. Equally volatile was Joseph Girard III, who scored 20 for the Orange (4-4, 1-0).
Goodwin was the top player for the Irish with 16 points and nine rebounds. Together with [autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag], who had 14 points, the two combined for seven 3-pointers. [autotag]Ven-Allen Lubin[/autotag] was a potent threat off the bench thanks to 10 points and eight boards.
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Florida’s 2022 recruiting class could look pretty strong if Mike White can land this 4-star.
Four-star combo guard Judah Mintz decommitted from the University of Pittsburgh in November during the early signing period. Mike White wanted Mintz before his commitment to the Panthers, and that hasn’t changed now that he’s back on the market.
Mintz said that Florida, Tennessee and Xavier are standing out as potential locations to visit to 247Sports. That’s some decent competition for Florida to overcome, but UF may have the upper hand right now. Mintz is looking to play a specific kind of basketball in college, and he wants good people on the court with him too. Florida checks off both of those boxes.
“They wanted me before I committed originally,” Mintz said, “and they really fit my style of play. They get up and down the court. I know Jalen Reed and Malik Reneau already and they are going there right now.”
Reneau is one of the country’s elite power forwards and Reed is a top 100 power forward with a bit more size. Three-star Denzel Aberdeen is the sole guard in the class right now, so adding Mintz would work out fine. Mintz says that some teams have talked to him about running the point guard position in college, but he sees himself as more of a combo guard. Ultimately, he’s willing to make the switch if it means getting to play at an elite university.
Mintz plans to finish up his season and make some visits during winter break. He wants to have his mind made up before Geico Nationals, so those visits will be crucial when it comes time for his final decision.
Florida currently has the No. 20 recruiting class in the nation. Mintz would bump Florida up enough to contend for a top-10 or top-15 class with one more big signing.
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