Georgia Bulldogs vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish Picks and Predictions December 3rd 2024

Off to Fast Start, Georgia Welcomes Skidding Notre Dame

Georgia Looks to Extend Strong Start

The Georgia Bulldogs (7-1) aim to continue their impressive early-season form when they host the struggling Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-4) on Tuesday in the SEC/ACC Challenge in Athens, Ga.

A win would give Georgia its best start since the 2006-07 season, when the team won eight of its first nine games. The Bulldogs are coming off a dominant 102-56 victory over Jacksonville on Saturday, their highest scoring output since 2020. Georgia shot an impressive 66.7 percent from the field and 58.3 percent from beyond the arc.

“The assist-to-turnover ratio, the way the ball moved, the extra passes, the shot selection and the unselfishness offensively was at an all-time high,” Georgia head coach Mike White said after the win.

White is hopeful the Bulldogs can build on their momentum and capitalize on a supportive home crowd against Notre Dame.

“We’d be appreciative of a great turnout to give us a chance to play well against a high-level program,” White said. “(Notre Dame) is very, very good, extremely well coached. They’re just a solid team and program. For us, it’s all about how we prepare for them.”

Georgia’s balanced offense is led by five-star freshman Asa Newell, who averages 15.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Silas Demary Jr. adds 14 points per game, while Dakota Leffew provides a spark off the bench with 13 points per game.

Notre Dame Aims to Halt Losing Streak

The Fighting Irish enter the matchup on a four-game losing skid and will be without preseason All-ACC selection Markus Burton, who injured his right knee in an overtime loss to Rutgers on Nov. 26. Burton, who leads the team with 18.2 points per game, is expected to miss several weeks.

“We’re short-handed right now, but it’s not like that’s changing,” Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry said. “We need to continue to have belief, we need to continue to find different ways to win. Whether that’s a high-scoring affair or a knockdown, drag-out game, I think we can kind of do both. We just have to find different ways to have success.”

Notre Dame dropped its most recent game, 80-76 to Creighton, in the seventh-place matchup of the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas on Saturday. Braeden Shrewsberry and Tae Davis each scored 17 points in the loss.

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With Burton sidelined, Shrewsberry (15.4 points per game) and Davis (14.5 points per game) will be tasked with carrying the scoring load.

Key Storylines

• Georgia’s Depth: The Bulldogs have six players averaging double figures in scoring and have showcased balanced production throughout their roster.
• Notre Dame’s Resilience: Despite injuries and a tough stretch, the Fighting Irish have shown flashes of competitiveness, as evidenced by their close games against Rutgers and Creighton.
• SEC/ACC Challenge Dynamics: Georgia won last year’s ACC/SEC Challenge game on the road and will look to defend its home court this time against a Notre Dame team looking to snap its skid.

Both teams have something to prove in this matchup, making it a compelling battle between one program on the rise and another looking to right the ship.