Notre Dame men’s basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry offers plea to fan base
SOUTH BEND − To snap a five-game losing streak that has seen the Notre Dame men’s basketball team labor 17 days (and counting) since its last win, second-year head coach Micah Shrewsberry needs more.
More of a commitment from his guys to dig in and defend. More production (i.e., points) on offense. More ball movement. More energy. More fight. More.
Throw more home support into the mix.
Asked Thursday about Saturday’s game against Syracuse, Shrewsberry took the opportunity to say that he isn’t pleased with the Purcell Pavilion attendance to date, without saying he isn’t pleased. He just decided to go there.
“I know we’ve got to play better for people to come and watch us (but), we need you now more than (ever),” Shrewsberry said. “We don’t really need you when we’re undefeated and rolling. I need you when we lost five in a row to help us get back on the right track.”
Shrewsberry shared a scene from Tuesday’s game at Georgia. He walked out to watch warmups and noticed that nearly every seat in the Stegman Coliseum student section was occupied. This was 75 minutes before the game. A similar situation happened last year the first time Notre Dame took part in the SEC/ACC Challenge at South Carolina. Notre Dame lost both games, 69-48 to Georgia and 65-53 to South Carolina.
“Those environments,” Shrewsberry said, “spurred those guys on.”
When will a Purcell Pavilion crowd spur on the home team?
Heading into Saturday’s Atlantic Coast Conference opener, Notre Dame (4-5) ranks 14th out of 18 league teams in average home attendance (4,410). Only Boston College, California, Georgia Tech, and Stanford average fewer home fans. In four home games, the Irish have played in front of seas of empty seats.
The season’s smallest crowd in the 9,149-seat arena – November 19 against North Dakota – had an announced attendance of 3,912. There may have been maybe 2,500 in the building that night. There also may have been more band members than students.
The explanations/excuses for a lack of home attendance over the last few years have been endless. The opponent isn’t worth watching. The product on the court isn’t worth watching. It’s (insert holiday) break. There’s a big test in the business school the next day. There’s a hockey game going on across the parking lot at the same time.
It’s too cold and snowy to walk from the dorm to the arena. That was a good one. It was February. It’s cold, and it snows in South Bend in February.
History may be on Notre Dame’s side this weekend. Syracuse (4-3) is one of the few ACC teams not named Duke or North Carolina that moves the Purcell Pavilion fan meter. The teams were Big East colleagues. They’re now ACC colleagues.
Saturday’s game carries a caveat. It’s a noon start, and the Notre Dame student body usually doesn’t do noon starts. In fairness, they haven’t done 7 p.m. or 7:30 or, really, any other start time as well.
Shrewsberry hasn’t gone the route of his predecessor, Mike Brey, who often took to visiting dorms to drum up support for a program that once led the entire nation in consecutive home victories (45 straight from 2006 to 2009). There were also times when Brey would swing by South Dining Hall to stand on the tables and shout (plead?) for a better student turnout.
Shrewsberry’s not climbing on any tables yet, but you can tell that he wants more from the home fan base. Thursday wasn’t the first time this season he openly wondered about/questioned the home attendance, and it’s only early December.
Notre Dame last hosted a sellout 45 (there’s that number again) home games ago against Duke on January 31, 2022. Its largest crowd last season – Shrewsberry’s first – was 8,066, also for Duke.
“No matter if nobody shows up or 9,000 show up, we’re going to still go out and compete and play the game the right way,” he said. “But we need our fans more than ever.”
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com
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