Notre Dame was set to host Eastern Illinois on Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. ET inside Purcell Pavilion, a quick follow-up to its latest home game and part of a stretch that asks a lot of a team early in the season. The Irish entered 2-0, while Eastern Illinois came in 0-2.
The matchup drew attention because Notre Dame had already shown it could finish games and score in bunches. Braeden Smith, who had scored 16 points against Villanova and then tied his career high with 10 assists against Mercyhurst, was part of the reason the Irish were carrying momentum into this one. Against Mercyhurst, Notre Dame won 83-56, led 14-0 after the opening tip and stretched the margin to 25-7 before settling into a 17-point run after the break.
That recent form gave the Irish a cleaner runway than Eastern Illinois, but the record alone did not tell the full story. The Panthers had played only on the road before arriving, and both losses came at Indiana and Iowa. That kind of schedule can leave a 0-2 mark looking harsher than it is, especially against a team that has already been tested away from home in its first two games.
Notre Dame’s own numbers from the Mercyhurst win showed why it was expected to control much of the tempo. The Irish shot 28-of-52 from the field, made 15 of 32 from three-point range and outrebounds Mercyhurst 32-22, while Mercyhurst had no first-half offensive rebounds. Ethan Roberts scored 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting with three triples, and Smith added five points while assisting on four of Notre Dame’s first seven made baskets.
Coach Shrewsberry pointed to Smith’s poise after the Villanova game, saying the point guard can pull the group together late and keep everyone on the same page. He also called Brady Koehler a beast after Koehler’s 17-point second game and a Villanova performance that included 16 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks. That combination of steadiness and balance has helped define the Shrewsberry era’s early results.
Eastern Illinois, though, brought some size and production that could make the game less tidy than the records suggest. Tanner Vogel, a 7-foot center from Busselton, Australia, averaged 9.5 points and 9.0 rebounds, while Demar Burton averaged 9.5 points and shot 57.1 percent from the field after a Division II season at Tiffin University. Notre Dame’s next test came Wednesday against South Carolina State, so this game sat in the middle of a short home stretch that will say more about the Irish’s rotation and pace than the score alone.
If Notre Dame handles Eastern Illinois the way it handled Mercyhurst, the bigger question becomes how much the Irish can carry that rhythm through a two-game home run in three days without losing the edge that made the start look so sharp.
