Two games into the season, Notre Dame has outscored its opposition by a combined 58 points. In their third game of the season, the Irish (2-0) face a Chicago State team that was outscored by 34 points against DePaul Sunday.
Tonight's match-up will be the second in a month-long road trip for the Cougars (1-1), while it ends a six-day stretch for Notre Dame filled with three games. Friday night the Irish topped Georgia Southern 98-61 to open the season, and defeated Liberty 72-51 Sunday.
In both games, Notre Dame started five seniors – guards Ben Hansbrough and Scott Martin and forwards Tim Abromaitis, Carleton Scott and Tyrone Nash. Four of the five – excluding Martin – are team captains.
"We have five guys that are technically seniors that have been around so it is a great group to build and grow with," Brey said of the team's elder statesmen before the season began. "Trying to stay old with the guys that are on the floor as much as possible is really important to us."
Of those five, Hansbrough leads the team in scoring with 20 points against Georgia Southern and 19 against Liberty. He has opened the season with an especially hot hand from deep, hitting nine of his 15 three-point attempts.
Both Abromaitis and Nash are also averaging double digits for the Irish – a scoring diversity that Brey foresaw.
"We will be a little more diverse [in scoring], with guys being able to make plays," he said. "Certainly Ben [Hansbrough] and [Tim Abromaitis] are the most confident to make plays, especially during our early non-league slate. They have been in the battles a little longer."
Notre Dame faces Chicago State tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Purcell Pavilion.
