Notre Dame looks a lot like the three teams that have already beaten Kentucky
Experience versus a freshman-dependent team. A savvy point guard against a team still looking for its on-court leader. Enough size and know-how not to get overwhelmed around the basket.
A familiar — and again threatening — pattern faces Kentucky in its next game on Saturday. Notre Dame resembles Richmond, Kansas and Georgia Tech . . . aka the teams responsible for UK’s current three-game losing streak.
Notre Dame’s top four scorers are juniors. Its fifth-leading scorer is a graduate student.
The savvy point guard is Prentiss Hubb, who is coming off a career-high 26-point game in a loss to Ohio State.
“It all comes off him,” Notre Dame Coach Mike Brey said of Hubb during a teleconference Thursday.
Brey recalled what he said last season when Hubb led the Irish to a 9-4 finish in Atlantic Coast Conference play after a 2-6 start.
“I said, he’s my Mahomes,” Brey said in reference to Patrick Mahomes, who led the Kansas City Chiefs to the Super Bowl championship last season.
“I’ve been so impressed with how he runs our group . . . ,” Brey said of Hubb. “He gives us a toughness and a belief. And it’s been exciting to see him getting older and stronger since the freshman Prentiss Hubb.”
Toughness is one of the attributes UK Coach John Calipari has stressed his team needs to further develop.
As he does every season, Calipari has also spoken of the need for Kentucky to be a “player-driven team” as opposed to a collection of players needing to feed off the coach’s competitiveness.
An exchange between Hubb and Brey after Tuesday’s 90-85 loss to Ohio State suggested Notre Dame is player-driven.
“He says to me walking off the floor, ‘That’s my fault tonight,’” said Brey, who added, “I mean, are you kidding me? We’re not even in the game without him.
Hubb’s career-high 26 points included 5-for-9 three-point shooting.
But that couldn’t prevent a Notre Dame defeat. A turnover down the stretch stuck in Hubb’s mind.
“Just because I’m the leader of the team, Coach Brey relies on me a lot,” Hubb said after the game. “And I think being the vocal leader, it always falls back on the point guard regardless of what happens. I could have done a lot of things better. I’m going to take the responsibility.”
Brey acknowledged Notre Dame’s greater experience, but . . .
“I look at the NBA Draft projections, and two of those starters are in the top 10,” he said of Kentucky’s lineup. “And I believe (Olivier) Sarr will be a first-round pick. So, it’s not like they’re hurting for talent.”
Backs to wall
Losing three of its first four games marks Kentucky’s worst start to a season since 2000-01, and only the fifth time since 1927 that a UK team began a season with a 1-3 record.
“I understand backs against the wall,” Brey said before relating what he told his players. “I said, hey, fellas, we’re 1-2. Are our backs against the wall a little bit, too? . . .
“I feel we’re a little cornered, too. I understand the Kentucky dynamic. I get it. But I think both teams are pushed back against the wall a little bit.”
UK-Notre Dame
UK has played Notre Dame 62 times. The series ran uninterrupted from 1936 through 1952 and from 1958 through 1983. The teams have not played a regular-season game since Nov. 29, 2013.
Brey said serving together with Calipari on the National Association of Basketball Coaches Board of Directors sparked the resumption of the series. The athletic departments also share the same marketing firm, which first proposed the teams play, he said.
During the dead period in April, Brey and Calipari discussed a series.
“Back then, we didn’t know about the season,” Brey said. “Maybe we still don’t know about the season.”
Thriller remembered
The last time Kentucky played Notre Dame was a classic. It came in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Midwest Region finals. Notre Dame outplayed undefeated UK for about 30 minutes. Then the Cats rallied to a 68-66 victory.
Needing programming in April when the coronavirus shut down sports, ESPNU televised past games, including the UK-Notre Dame thriller.
“Calipari and I were texting each other during the game,” Brey said of the replay. “And it got to about the six-minute mark when they called a timeout. . . . I knew what was going to happen and I texted Calipari. I’m turning it off now. That’s enough for me.”
Time change
The CBS Sports Classic announced a change in the order of games in the doubleheader scheduled for Dec. 19 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.
Kentucky will play UCLA in the first game with tip-off scheduled for 2 p.m. The second game, which will start at about 4:15 p.m, will have North Carolina playing Ohio State.
Next game
Notre Dame at Kentucky
When: Noon Saturday
Where: Rupp Arena (limited spectators)
TV: CBS-27
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Series: Kentucky leads 43-19
Last meeting: Kentucky won 68-66 on March 28, 2015, in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region finals at Cleveland.
