Maryland vs. Notre Dame: Film analysis ahead of the Sweet 16

On Dec. 1, Diamond Miller sat stunned in the Notre Dame locker room postgame, staring down at a very special shoutout on her phone. 

It’s not every day that one’s game is recognized by a two-time Finals MVP, 13-time All Star and two-time NBA champion. But Miller had just made the shot of her lifetime to down then-No. 7 Notre Dame on a buzzer-beater jumper, and Kevin Durant had been paying attention.

Barely able to get a word out, Miller still could not grasp what had happened in the postgame press conference, saying ‘That’s something I’m gonna have to process later’.”

Miller has another chance to get the basketball world’s attention nearly four months later. No. 2- Maryland women’s basketball has a rematch with No. 3-seed Notre Dame on Saturday in the Sweet 16.

While both teams have ended up at the same point, how they got here is incredibly different. Maryland is playing its best basketball of the season, riding two double-digit wins in the NCAA Tournament to the second weekend. On the other side, Notre Dame has an extremely different look since the last time the two schools faced off.

Star guard Olivia Miles tore her ACL in the Irish’s regular season finale and will miss the rest of the year. Notre Dame’s second-leading scorer was limited by foul trouble in the December matchup against​​ the Terps, but still managed to score 14 points alongside seven assists.

To gauge where the teams are at, I reviewed film from both Notre Dame’s recent games and its game against the Terps to see just how much its play style has changed since the last matchup and Miles’ injury. Additionally, I looked at potential ways the Terps can exploit the Irish, and how they could potentially head back to the Elite Eight for the first time in eight years.

Key 1: No Miles, no assists

A first team All-Acc player, Miles is one of the elite passers in the country. The sophomore was averaging 6.9 assists per game before her injury, including these against Maryland.

Both are great finds to corner shooters, as Miles surveys the defense and gets two of Notre Dame’s shooters open threes.

Without her, the Irish have not been the same. In the four games since Miles’ injury, the Irish have only averaged 13 assists — four assists lower than in the 28 games she played in.

Maryland’s defense should be able to help more off-shooters as a result, as Notre Dame will be less likely to find the holes in the defense. That should mean Maryland can devote more attention to sophomore guard Sonia Citron, who scored 24 points in the first meeting.

Key 2: Changing of pace

Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey has done her best to mitigate Miles’ loss by slowing the pace. With Miles, Notre Dame played a fast and up-tempo style.

The Irish were one of the highest scoring teams in the country, averaging nearly 77 points a game with Miles in the lineup. Without her, that number drops into the low 60s.

Notre Dame has emphasized taking care of the basketball and feeding the post as a result. In their latest game against Mississippi State, the Irish scored only three transition points but had 30 paint points.

Inside, it’s been the Lauren Ebo and Maddy Westbeld show recently. The duo had a couple pretty post plays, including a high-low set against the Terps in the first meeting.

Key 3: Offensive rebounds

Ebo has always been a good rebounder, but has taken it a step further in the NCAA Tournament. The 6-foot-4 senior center has grabbed 28 rebounds in the first two rounds, including seven offensive boards.

One of Maryland’s weaknesses all season has been its lack of size in the front court and senior guard/forward Faith Masonius will be tested again on Saturday. The Terps handled Ebo in the first game, limiting her to just one point without a made shot. 

Maryland allows the second-most opponent rebounds in the Big Ten (38 per game), and bigs such as Mackenzie Holmes and Monika Czinano have exploited Masonius this season. It will be paramount she stops Ebo from the same production.