Busting Brackets
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Notre Dame Basketball: Irish powered by experienced roster

By Carmine Carcieri

Mar 27, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey reacts during the first half against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the championship game in the East regional of the NCAA Tournament at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 27, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey reacts during the first half against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the championship game in the East regional of the NCAA Tournament at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 25, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward V.J. Beachem (3) drives against Wisconsin Badgers forward Khalil Iverson (21) during the second half in a semifinal game in the East regional of the NCAA Tournament at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 25, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward V.J. Beachem (3) drives against Wisconsin Badgers forward Khalil Iverson (21) during the second half in a semifinal game in the East regional of the NCAA Tournament at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

What questions does Notre Dame basketball have to answer before the 2016-17 season tips-off?

No Demetrius Jackson? No Zach Auguste? No problem.

At least, as long as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have head coach Mike Brey and a roster loaded with experience.

Brey has led the Irish to two straight Elite Eight appearances and six NCAA Tournament berths in the last seven years. The last two seasons, the Irish haven’t had a ton of depth and were lacking size beyond the presence of Auguste.

The 2016-17 Irish won’t have a single player as talented as Jackson, Auguste and former Notre Dame point guard Jerian Grant, but they have experience up-and-down their roster.

17 years of college experience…! You cannot beat that in the world of college basketball.

V.J. Beachem is the top returning scorer for the Irish, while they also return Steve Vasturia, Bonzie Colson, Matt Ryan, Matt Farrell, Rex Pflueger, Martinas Geben and Austin Torres. The Irish are a bit deeper and once again possess great shooting from the perimeter (Vasturia, Beachem and Ryan).

They also have an intriguing freshman class coming to South Bend. Four-star point guard Temple Gibbs is the headliner, while three-star power forward John Mooney and shooting guard Nikola Djogo will provide extra depth.

In addition to the veteran returnees and the intriguing freshman class, center Elijah Burns is returning after sitting out the entire 2015-16 season with an ankle injury. The former four-star recruit in the class of 2015 will give the Irish another body and extra size in the front court.

The ACC is stacked once again this year, as they could legitimately send 9-to-11 teams to the Big Dance. Notre Dame won’t be in the mix at the top of the league, but they are likely to have a shot at making a run in the NCAA Tournament if they answer these three burning questions before the season tips-off.

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