The Notre Dame Fighting Irish return home Wednesday night after playing two games at neutral sites as they host the George Washington Colonials at at Purcell Pavilion.
The Irish are 2-0 at home this season, winning their first two games 58-49 against Evansville and 84-57 against Monmouth. Notre Dame has proven to be a tough opponent at home in the past few years, losing only once in the past 38 games.
Following the two wins the Irish rose to 20th in the AP Top 25, but fell out the rankings after an upset loss to Saint Joseph's in the semifinal round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.
The team rebounded for a 78-68 win against BYU in the consolation round and will look to continue their winning ways at home against the Colonials. The Irish will play their next five games at home, including an anticipated matchup with Kentucky on Nov. 29.
Notre Dame ranks 38th in assists per game this season with 17 per game and is shooting the ball at an impressive 45 percent clip. The team is only ranked 128th in scoring, but ir rebounding the ball at a solid rate with nearly 40 per game. The Irish have shot well from 3-point range, making 33 percent of their shots.
Senior Jack Cooley has been the most valuable player for the Irish, leading the team in scoring and rebounding with 17 points and 11 rebounds per game. In the win against BYU Cooley played nearly 40 minutes and scored a season-high 19 points while grabbing 13 rebounds.
Cooley's 19 points matched his total for the opening game against Evansville. In the 58-49 win on Nov. 10, Cooley hit over 70 percent of his shots and blocked a season-high six shots.
Junior guard Eric Atkins is leading the team assists with 5.3 per game and had a double-double in the loss against Saint Joseph's, scoring 12 points and dishing out a career-high 10 assists. The strong play of Atkins has helped the Irish keep a 1.26 assist-to-turnover ratio, one of the best in the Big East.
Jerian Grant is averaging 11.3 points per game, which is second on the team, and has proven to be strong late in games this season, including against BYU when he had 17 points in the second half.
Although the two teams have never played before, there is a connection for the Irish--head coach Mike Brey is a George Washington alum. Brey played one season for the Colonials was named team captain and MVP.
The Colonials opened the season with an 80-73 loss to Youngstown State, but rebounded to earn their first win by beating Boston University 72-59 on Nov. 17.
The team will try to keep its road winning streak alive against the Irish, but it will be tough against a Notre Dame defense that is allowing only 63 points per game.
The Colonials shot poorly from 3-point range against Youngstown State, making only 27 percent of their shots. George Washington did much better against BU, hitting nearly 40 percent from 3-point range and 25 percent overall The team took an early lead and never looked back after making 15-of-26 shots in the first half.
Joe McDonald led the way for the Colonials, scoring 21 points, grabbing 17 rebounds and adding three assists. The freshman guard has been one of the most explosive players for George Washington, leading the team in scoring with 14 points while making over 50 percent of his shots.
Junior forward Isaiah Armwood was stellar in the win over Boston University, grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds and adding eight blocked shots to go with six points. In the opener against Youngstown State he hit over 60 percent of his shots and scored 18 points.
George Washington has had trouble scoring all season, ranking only 128th in scoring. The team is averaging nearly 40 rebounds per game, but must do better sharing the ball. The team is only ranked 192nd in assists and 107th in field goal percentage in the nation.
Last season the Colonials went only 10-21 before losing in the first round of the Atlantic-10 conference tournament. Notre Dame lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Xavier in the first round 67-63 to end the season on a disappointing note.
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