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Notre Dame Basketball: Keys to beating Rutgers in First Four matchup

By Danny McCormick

SOUTH BEND, IN - FEBRUARY 16: Members of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are seen during the game against the Boston College Eagles at Purcell Pavilion on February 16, 2022 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - FEBRUARY 16: Members of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are seen during the game against the Boston College Eagles at Purcell Pavilion on February 16, 2022 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame Basketball guard Blake Wesley Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Notre Dame Basketball guard Blake Wesley Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Get Goodwin and Wesley back on track

Dane Goodwin and Blake Wesley have been the most consistent players for Notre Dame all year long. Goodwin down the stretch had a few rough games shooting it only scoring six points against Florida State, 10 points against Pittsburgh, and 11 points against Virginia Tech coming off the bench. All 11 points came in the second half against Virginia Tech in the quarterfinal loss.

Mike Brey tried to maybe change something up last week against Virginia Tech by bringing Goodwin off the bench to try and get him out of his mini-funk late in the year, but that backfired.

Notre Dame needs Goodwin on the floor right from the jump because he is not only a scorer, but is also underrated on defense, and the ball seems to just flow better with him out there. This game should excite Goodwin for one obviously being his first taste of the NCAA Tournament, but also being able to play in his home state where he won the Gatorade Player of the Year in 2017-2018.

Wesley for the majority of the season did not play like a freshman out there for Notre Dame. Against Virginia Tech last Thursday you could tell he was only a freshman out there on the court. Wesley only played 21 minutes and finished with nine points. The star freshman has only finished in single digits in scoring five times this year, and three of them happened after being inserted in the starting lineup. The Hokies were able to speed Wesley up and just play at a more frantic pace.

The Irish need him just to play his game like he has been playing all year long. Maybe Mike Brey and the rest of the coaching staff will pull out the ruler and measure the floor to the rim like in the great classic movie Hoosiers. It may now be the NCAA Tournament but the game does not change.

Hopefully, the second half for Goodwin can carry over, and that Wesley can just flush the last game on Thursday. The Irish will need everybody to step up and be locked in overall and that starts with Goodwin and Wesley. Both have played exceptional basketball all year long, so I would not be surprised one bit to see both have huge games for Notre Dame as they have had many times throughout the season.

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