RADFORD, Va. – The season-opening Midwest swing for Radford men's basketball concludes with a Thursday night contest against the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.
SETTING THE STAGE
Opponent: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (0-0, 0-0 ACC)
Date/Time: Thursday, Nov. 10 at 8:00 p.m.
Location: Purcell Pavilion (South Bend, Ind.)
FOLLOW THE ACTION
TV: Watch live on ACC Network
Online:
Watch live on the ESPN App
Listen:
CLICK HERE
Live Stats: Link coming soon...
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the second meeting between Radford and Notre Dame, with the first coming on Nov. 14, 2018, a game that went down as one of the biggest upsets in program history.
The Highlanders went into South Bend without superstar Carlik Jones due to a one-game suspension and proceeded to beat the Fighting Irish, 63-60. Floyd native Caleb Tanner dropped 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from three-point range and Ed Polite Jr. powered his way to a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double.
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING IRISH
Coming off a 24-11 season in which they went 15-5 in ACC play, the Irish were picked to finish 6
th out of 15 teams in the premiere conference's preseason poll. A huge part of that success a season ago was their ability to defend their home court: Notre Dame went 14-1 in Purcell Pavilion.
Blake Wesley, the first one-and-done player in Notre Dame history, was the catalyst of that team but was selected 25
thoverall in the NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs. That leaves graduate student Dane Goodwin as the team's top threat. He was recognized nationally leading up to the season, being named to the Jerry West Award Watch List for the nation's top shooting guard.
Fellow grads Ryan Cormac and Nate Laszewski will flank Goodwin on what very well could be the nation's oldest team. Notre Dame hasn't played a regular season game yet this year, but there's no doubt they'll be ready to go.
THROWBACK THURSDAY
While the entire coaching staff and most of the roster has turned over since the last time Radford made its way to South Bend, there is still one person on the team that experienced the win –
Josiah Jeffers. Now a fifth-year guard, Jeffers was a true freshman for the 2018-19 season and played five minutes that night.
Notre Dame is in a similar situation with their roster, as only Nate Laszewski and Dane Goodwin were on the team then and now.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW
Monday night's contest at Marquette was an opportunity for several Highlanders to officially make their debut in the red and white.
Onyebuchi Ezeakudo,
DaQuan Smith,
Bryan Antoine,
Madiaw Niang,
Souleymane Koureissi,
Kenyon Giles, and
Ibu Yamazaki all played their very first minutes of regular season basketball at Radford.
FEARLESS FRESHMAN
Kenyon Giles may be a true freshman. He may be 5'11". And he may be coming off the bench right now. But one thing he is not is scared.
The Chesapeake, Va. native who played his high school ball out in Las Vegas showed absolutely no fear in his first taste of college basketball, shooting 7-for-10 to lead the Highlanders with 15 points at Marquette on Monday night.
Keep on eye on this kid, Highlander Nation.
FOLLOW RADFORD MEN'S BASKETBALL
To follow the Radford men's basketball team throughout the season, visit RadfordAthletics.com, follow @RadfordHoops on Twitter, 'radfordhoops' Instagram or Radford Men's Basketball on Facebook.
