SOUTH BEND – Don’t dismiss this next one for Notre Dame basketball.
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This will be a test for the Irish, a test that many may not expect as Notre Dame wraps a quick two games in three nights week with another home game against another opponent from another overmatched conference.
That’s where it gets interesting. Yes, Notre Dame should be the better team. Yes, Notre Dame should win. Still, this early in a long season, it’s a test of everything we’ve been told is good about this Irish basketball team – their approach, their maturity, their experience, their focus.
It’s been a sprint of a start for the Irish, who get a five-day break from game action after this one. Don’t dwell on that. Lock in for another 40 minutes and handle business.
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Date: Wednesday, November 11
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Start time: 7 p.m.
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Site: Purcell Pavilion (9,149), South Bend
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Tickets: Available.
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TV: ACCNX
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Radio: 960 WSBT-AM in South Bend. Also on SiriusXM on ACC Radio and channels 955 and 956. You can also listen live free on Audacy.
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Live streaming: https://www.fubo.tv/stream/tv/?
The teams have never met. South Carolina State is one of eight teams in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, an eight-team league made up of HBCUs. Notre Dame is 7-0 all-time against MEAC schools.
∎ Consider last season a scheduling lesson learned for fifth-year South Carolina State head coach Erik Martin. South Carolina State opened with a 104-55 loss at Louisville, an experience that Martin said left his guys “spooked.” This year, South Carolina State chose a much softer opener – at home against NAIA Morris College and a 94-55 win.
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∎ South Carolina State beat Chicago State, 82-67, Monday before heading to South Bend. Its non-conference schedule also includes road games against South Carolina, West Virginia, Wichita State and Winthrop.
∎ The 55-year-old Martin played two seasons at Cincinnati under Bob Huggins. In 1992-93, on a UC team that finished 27-5 and featured future NBA players Corie Blount and Nick Van Exel, the 6-foot-7 Martin was second on the team in scoring (13.5 ppg.) and rebounding (6.7 rpg.). Martin served as an assistant coach under Huggins at Kansas State (2006-07) and West Virginia (2007-22).
∎ Returning one starter off a squad that finished 10-22 overall, 7-7 and fifth place in the MEAC last season, the Bulldogs were picked this preseason to finish fifth in the league. Martin said in preseason that he believes he has a team that can win the MEAC and get to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003.
∎ This game wraps a quick three-game homestand for Notre Dame, which next heads to Las Vegas for three games in three days at the Players Era Festival 8. The Irish open play Tuesday, November 17 against No. 1 Florida.
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Now three games into his freshman season, the massive adjustment of making the jump from high school to college should be subsiding for the 6-foot-3, 195-pound native of Ann Arbor, Michigan. We should start seeing more of the skills that made Sanderson a consensus Top 65 recruit. The way he plays. The way he can finish. The way he doesn’t back down to anyone.
It’s been a change for him, understanding that some of the stuff he did in high school, he cannot do now in college. Understanding, too, to take care of the ball. Understanding how to settle down and settle in. Make shots. Just play. Relax. He seemed too sped up the first three games, and the stats – 3.3 ppg., 0.7 rpg., 0.7 apg., .214 FG, .222 3, show it.
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Sanderson has skills. He has swagger. There’s a lot to work with there, and a lot to see. We should start seeing it sooner than later.
The 6-5, 180-pound native of Atlanta was as good as gone when last season ended. Treadwell averaged 9.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.6 steals in 22.5 minutes last season, when he played in 31 games with five starts. He earned MEAC rookie of the year, which meant it also earned him a trip to the transfer portal. Time to level up. Maybe.
Treadwell chose to return to Orangeburg for his sophomore season, where he was one of a handful of players to watch on the league’s preseason watch list. He went for 18 points and three rebounds in South Carolina State’s win at USC-Upstate. Through two games, Treadwell averaged 12.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.5 steals in 22.0 minutes.
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Tuesday, November 17 vs. No. 1 Florida (Players Era 8 Festival, Las Vegas), 4:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Wednesday, November 18 vs Houston/Rutgers (Players Era 8 Festival, Las Vegas), TBD (ESPN)
Thursday, November 19 vs. TBD (Players Era 8 Festival, Las Vegas), TBD (ESPN)
Tuesday, November 24 CENTRAL MICHIGAN, 8 (ACCNX)
Saturday, November 28 STONEHILL, 8 (ACCNX)
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Everything to know as Notre Dame basketball hosts South Carolina State
