Duke Basketball: Blue Devils gear up for Irish’s ‘National Championship’
The Duke Basketball team is in South Bend to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on ESPN’s Big Monday.
The Duke Blue Devils are back on the road in South Bend as Notre Dame will welcome Duke into the Purcell Pavilion.
The Blue Devils are riding a three game winning streak after falling to Syracuse on ESPN’s Big Monday two weeks ago. Since that time the Blue Devils defeated then No. 4 Virginia, Pittsburgh, and Georgia Tech.
In two of those three games Duke was without Tre Jones, but the freshman guard returned on Saturday in the win over Georgia Tech.
More from Ball Durham
- Duke basketball: The architect behind digital dominance
- Duke basketball prioritizing frontcourt prospects in 2025
- Duke basketball: Unmasking the hate for the Blue Devils
- Duke basketball: Countdown to Craziness lands another huge visitor
- Duke basketball fills final open scholarship
Duke struggled mightily on Saturday for the first 25 minutes against the Yellow Jackets, losing by two points at halftime and down by as many as eight points in the second half, before the Blue Devils woke up and used a 13-0 run to down the Yellow Jackets.
As for Notre Dame, the Irish are in the midst of a four game losing streak with three of its four losses coming against ranked teams, most recently on Saturday at home against Virginia, 82-55.
While the Cavaliers are a Top-3 team in the country, its not the same energy and intensity in the arena when Duke is there, especially this season.
Mike Brey‘s team is 1-6 in the ACC and 11-9 overall and any chance at an NIT bid is most likely out the window, so Monday night will be Notre Dame’s ‘National Championship’.
The Irish are led by John Mooney and in the past Mooney and players like him at Notre Dame, most notably Bonzie Colson, have be matchup issues for the Blue Devils.
Mooney stands at six-feet-nine-inches and 242 pounds with the ability to step outside the arc and drill the 3-point ball at a very consistent rate.
However, this season Duke has Zion Williamson that can defend versatile big men, like Mooney, on the perimeter while swatting every shot that is put towards the basket in the paint.
Another stellar matchup will be between the lead guards for both teams in Tre Jones vs. TJ Gibbs.
Jones has asserted himself as one of the defenders in the country averaging 2.0 steals per game, while Gibbs averages 13.4 points and 3.9 assists per game.
Other than Mooney and Gibbs, the Irish do not have another serious threat outside of D.J. Harvey while the Blue Devils can roll out a host of elite talent and R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish have yet to be mentioned.
While the Pavilion will certainly be loud, fired up, and ready to go, it will be nothing this Duke team has not seen yet.
Notre Dame might be able to keep this game close in the first half, but a signature Duke run in the second half will put this game away.
The Blue Devils and the Fighting Irish will tip off at 7:00 pm ET and the game can be seen on ESPN.
PREDICTION: Duke 87, Notre Dame 70
Stay tuned to Ball Durham on Twitter, @Ball_Durham, and here at our website, balldurham.com, for complete coverage of the Duke Blue Devils vs. the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.