SOUTH BEND — Even a loss that snapped a decades-long preseason success streak was considered a win in ways by Notre Dame basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry.
Something happened to the Irish on the fourth Friday in October that hadn’t happened since November 1999. For the first time since Matt Doherty was head coach, and Purcell Pavilion was just the Joyce Center, Notre Dame lost an exhibition game — 69-62 to former independent buddy and Big East colleague DePaul.
The game snapped a streak of 46 consecutive preseason exhibition victories (mostly against non-Division I programs) for Notre Dame. It was the first loss for Notre Dame since a 105-81 defeat at the hands of something called Marathon Oil.
That loss left Doherty in a foul mood. So much so that the next day, he gathered the Irish in The Pit, the arena’s old basement practice facility. On a scheduled off day, they ran 304 sprints after a Tribune headline classified the Irish effort against Marathon as “lackadaisical.”
Shrewsberry was nowhere near as salty Friday after he watched his team tumble into a 13-point hole in the first half, struggle to shoot, struggle to guard and seldom play at a level it played at the previous week in an exhibition win at Butler.
Just the fact that Notre Dame had to do tough stuff against two power-conference programs this month was good enough. That October exhibitions — open to the public and treated like actual games — are part of the plan is fine by Shrewsberry.
“This is why you play these teams, to help you leading into the season,” he said. “You need to get out there; you need to feel it.”
Notre Dame opens the regular season Monday, November 3 against LIU Brooklyn.
There is talk of the NCAA allowing more than two exhibitions, but that may be a few years away. Anything is better than another afternoon of practice going against the same guys in the same drills.
“These guys are tired of seeing each other, so let’s add another to just get another look,” Shrewsberry said. “It’s helpful for everybody. I think everybody needs it.”
Shrewsberry played two friends in the coaching profession in Thad Matta (Butler) and Chris Holtmann (DePaul). He could/would call both a few days after watching film of the games and discuss his team, their teams and ways his group could improve.
“You can play your friends and it’s OK; We can lose this game. I’m OK,” Shrewsberry said post-DePaul. “We’re going to help each other get better. That’s why you play people you’re close with.”
In that regard, Purdue might eventually find itself in the Notre Dame exhibition mix. Shrewsberry spent four years (2011-13, 2017-19) as an assistant to Matt Painter.
“I could see it,” Shrewsberry said. “Paint and I will talk in the future probably.”
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com
