Three things Wichita State can do to beat Notre Dame in Maui championship

America will be watching Wednesday night when No. 6 Wichita State (4-0) and No. 13 Notre Dame (5-0) battle in the Maui Invitational championship on ESPN2 at 9:30 p.m. Central time.

The stage is set for the Shockers, who can not only capture a marquee win that will stand out in March, but also win a big-time tournament in front of a national audience.

Like Wichita State, Notre Dame brings back a lot of minutes and production from last season. The Fighting Irish also have two of college basketball’s stars in senior point guard Matt Farrell (18.0 points) and senior do-everything Bonzie Colson (19.0 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.4 blocks).

Here are three ways Wichita State can bring home its first eight-team tournament title since 1963:

1. Win the strength vs. strength battle

Notre Dame brings in one of the most efficient offenses in college basketball that will be up against one of the most efficient defenses in the country in Wichita State.

Farrell and Colson are too talented to expect Wichita State’s defense to completely shut them down, but the goal should be to hold Notre Dame to under 1.1 points per possession and as close to 1 as possible.

How tough will that be?

Well, Notre Dame is currently pumping out better than 1.3 points per possession (the second-best rate in college basketball) and ranks No. 4 in KenPom’s Adjusted Efficiency. To be fair, Notre Dame hasn’t faced a top-100 defense.

But Notre Dame has also been consistently great under Brey in recent history. Notre Dame has ranked in the top 20 the last three seasons in KenPom’s Adjusted Efficiency and points per possession.

Don’t expect an up-tempo game, either. Notre Dame loves to run through its sets and drain the clock. Through five games, Notre Dame is playing at the 33rd slowest pace in college basketball, per KenPom. The Irish also take great care of the ball, committing turnovers on just 12 percent of possessions (ninth-lowest rate in the country).

I doubt there will be enough possessions in the game for Wichita State to score 80 points without a hot shooting performance. The Shockers can win a game in the high 60s or in the 70s, but they’re going to have to hold one of college basketball’s highest-powered offenses in check.

2. Keep taking high-percentage 2-pointers

Wichita State has maintained its pace as one of the most efficient offenses in the country, averaging 86 points and scoring at 1.16 points per possession in two games in Maui.

The Shockers have accomplished those high marks without hitting a lot of threes. The Shockers are shooting just 27 percent from beyond the arc, and three-pointers make up just under 21 percent of the team’s offense.

For reference, that rate would rank in the bottom 40 of college basketball this season. And teams down there aren’t cranking out 1.16 points per possession.

But Wichita State still thrives without the three-point shot because it seeks out high-percentage looks for two. The Shockers are shooting 58.5 percent on two-pointers this season, good for 39th in the country. That needs to continue against Notre Dame.

Again, Notre Dame’s competition so far hasn’t been great, but it has held teams to 29-percent shooting beyond the arc and to a 42.3 percent effective field goal percentage, a top-30 mark in the country.

Gregg Marshall has called this one of the best shooting teams he’s had in 33 years of coaching, so maybe the Shockers are due for their threes to finally start dropping. The rims are incredibly forgiving in the Lahaina Civic Center, after all.

If Wichita State shoots better 40 percent from three, it’s hard to see them losing a game. If the Shockers don’t, they can still win by grinding out efficient looks close to the basket like they’ve been doing all season.

3. Limit three-point success

Like the first two teams Wichita State faced in Maui, Notre Dame is going to be trigger-happy from beyond the arc.

And so far Notre Dame is doing it better than anybody WSU has faced. The Irish are taking a healthy amount of threes (nearly 23 per game) and they are shooting an absurd 44 percent on three-pointers as a team. Farrell and Gibbs are both averaging three makes per game, and Gibbs is canning nearly 52 percent of his attempts. Those will be the main two to stop from beyond the arc for WSU.

Wichita State has struggled at times defending the three-point line, although its defense has eventually worn down shooters from California and Marquette. Cal still finished at 10 for 19, but Marquette cooled down and finished 9 of 33.

The Shockers aren’t likely to prevent Notre Dame from shooting 20-plus threes, but what they can do is limit Notre Dame’s shooting percentage. If WSU can keep Notre Dame to below 40 percent and closer to its opponent’s season average of 34 percent, then the Shockers should be in position to win the game late.

This story was originally published November 22, 2017 at 5:17 PM with the headline "Three things Wichita State can do to beat Notre Dame in Maui championship."