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Notre Dame vs CSNU: 2021-22 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

By Danny McCormick

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 09: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrate following a three point basket at the buzzer by Trey Wertz #2 to secure the 80-77 win over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the second half of their first round game in the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum on March 09, 2021 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 09: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrate following a three point basket at the buzzer by Trey Wertz #2 to secure the 80-77 win over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the second half of their first round game in the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum on March 09, 2021 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame and Cal State Northridge kick off the season on Saturday at Notre Dame. Can the Irish rack up some wins before they head west for the Maui Invitational in Vegas?

When: 12 pm ET, Saturday, November 13th on ACCNX

Where: Joyce Center in Notre Dame, Indiana

College basketball is back! It seems like forever since Baylor cut down the nets in Indianapolis in early April but here we are we finally made it to the first week of college basketball. For Notre Dame and Cal State Northridge, it has been a much longer wait.

The last time the Irish took the court for an actual game that mattered in the standings they were run out of the building against the North Carolina Tar Heels in Greensboro losing in a huge way 101-59. The Matadors were eliminated in the first round of the Big West Conference Tournament last year on March 9th by Long Beach State 85-63. Both teams will be looking to rebound and have better years in the 2021-2022 season.

Notre Dame is returning everybody from last year’s team minus big man Juwan Durham and guard Nikola Djogo. The Irish were able to replace Durham in the starting position down low with reigning Ivy League Player of the Year in Paul Atkinson. The former Yale standout has a lot of people excited around the program about what he can bring to the team.

Coach Mike Brey was also able to bring in two local recruits in Blake Wesley and JR Konieczny. Wesley will definitely crack the rotation, but would not be shocked to see Konieczny get minutes either throughout the season.

Notre Dame is being projected by different media outlets to finish anywhere from 7th to 9th going into the season in the ACC which should put them in the discussion for an NCAA tournament bid. One site that is very high on the Irish is KenPom who has the Irish currently as the 27th best team in the country right now.

Cal State Northridge is projected to finish last in the Big West Conference according to the preseason polls. The Matadors lost its top scorer from last year in guard TJ Starks as he has moved on to the NBA G-League. Starks averaged 21.7 points per game which will be hard to replace right away.

At the same time, the Matadors do return two of their top four double-digit scorers from last year’s roster in guard Darius Brown II and Lance Coleman II. Incoming transfer guard Darius Beane who transfers in from Northern Illinois should step in and play meaningful minutes right away for Cal State Northridge.

Brown II averaged 10.5 ppg, 4.8 rebs, and 5.3 assists. While Coleman II averaged 13.9 ppg, and 3.8 rebs during the 20-21 season for CSUN. Darius Beane at Northern Illinois posted numbers of 9.7 ppg, 4.5 rebs, and 2.2 assists.

Mike Brey has always liked his roster to be old and stay old. Right now the Irish are an old and experienced group who should have no problem putting the ball in the hoop on the offensive end. It is the defensive end where they need to improve overall if they want to have a successful season.

Next. Key storylines for Villanova vs UCLA. dark

This will be Cal State Northridge’s second game of the year after playing at USC on Tuesday evening. Cal State Northridge lost that game by a final of 89-49 to the Trojans. Saturday will be the first regular-season game for Notre Dame when the Matadors come to town.

Prediction: Notre Dame 88, CSUN 63

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