12/18/2021 basketball Edit

IU set for final installment of Crossroads Classic against Notre Dame

Alec Lasley • TheHoosier

Senior Writer

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The Crossroads Classic has run its course and on Saturday, it will be the final installment of the event in which Indiana has flexed its muscles.

Indiana leads the event with a 7-3 record, while Butler is 6-4, Notre Dame is 4-6 and Purdue is 3-7. The Hoosiers have also won four in a row.

Saturday's opponent for the Hoosiers is Notre Dame. Despite entering the matchup with a 4-4 record, the Irish are coming off of a win over No. 10 Kentucky and looking for another notable non-conference win against the Hoosiers.

"First of all, they're well coached," IU head coach Mike Woodsons said. "He's (Mike Brey) done a hell of a job over the years there at Notre Dame. They've got a veteran ball club that's been together a while, so their system is in place. They know each other really well. So we'll got to combat that as well."

Indiana heads into the Crossroads Classic one final time, looking to upend Notre Dame.

Notre Dame is led by its perimeter play, and more specificlly its guards. Senior guard Dane Goodwin averages 14.3 points on 42.1 percent shooting from deep. Freshman guard Blake Wesley is second on the team at 13.0 points per game with shooting marks of 49.4 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from deep.

Overall, the Irish guards makeup 45.5 of the 68.6 total points per game.

"Yeah, their perimeter play is what drives them," Woodson said. "I think, when I watch film on them, they're very organized. I like the way they play on both ends of the floor. We got to commit ourselves for 40 minutes to come out of Bankers Life with the win. It's not going to be a game where we go in and think it's going to be easy. We've got to compete for 40 minutes and see what happens."

While Indiana's guards will have a tough task defending the explosiveness of some of the Irish backcourt players, the matchup that could decide the game will come up front.

Notre Dame has two bigs that shoulder most of the load in the frontcourt. 6-foot-10 forwards Paul Atkinson and Nate Laszewski have a versatile skillset that allows Notre Dame to play through them on the block, but also in pick and pop situations.

Atkinson is more of a traditional big -- averaging 11.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. He is shooting 61.4 percent from the field. Laszewski provides another threat for the Irish, but as someone who can stretch the floor and create more driving lanes for the Irish guards. He is shooting 35.3 percent from three on 4.3 attempts per game.

A smaller, quicker lineup with a much more perimeter oriented system will provide some difficult matchups for Indiana bigs Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson.

"I think they've done a good job in that regard," Woodson said of his bigs defending on the perimeter. "We don't switch a whole lot, and when they do switch, there's some times they get caught in a bad way, and they have to switch out on a smaller guy. That's just basketball. You can't play a 40-minute game and that not happen.

"You're going to get caught in bad situations, and you're going to have to just man up and play. I think, for the most part, they've done a pretty good job in that area. I have no complaints there."

“There’s a lot of things coach Woodson wants me to do,” Jackson-Davis said. “If I get switched onto a guard, just keeping them in front of me, moving my feet when I play defense. If I do have to switch I think I’m more than capable of keeping the guard in front.”

Indiana heads into the Crossroads Classic one final time, looking to continue its winning streak and add another win to its non-conference resume.