I’ve been talking a lot in past posts about Notre Dame’s “big” and “small” lineups. I’ve felt that lineups with just one of Bonzie Colson or Martinas Geben on the floor have been better offensively, but having two bigs on the floor has been necessary from a defensive perspective. The Irish are a really good team, and it’s not as if they can’t score when there are two bigs playing or can’t defend at all when there is only one. But these lineup imperfections have contributed to two tough losses against solid teams in Villanova and Purdue.

I wanted to take a deeper dive into Coach Mike Brey’s lineup decisions during the Purdue game. Now of course, substitutions during a game can be attributed to several explanations: maybe fatigue, maybe Brey just wants to get a bench guy some minutes, maybe there’s a strategical component, or maybe a guy didn’t hustle back on defense. So it’s impossible to know exactly why Brey is making certain substitutions, but I thought analyzing them could provide insight into his thought process and what might be best for the Irish moving forward.

Starting Lineup: Farrell, Vasturia, Beachem, Geben, Colson

-This has been the starting lineup all season.

1st substitution, 14:19 1st half: Torres for Geben (Notre Dame 11, Purdue 9)

-Geben has only been averaging about 15 minutes per game on the season (played 22 against Purdue) so it’s not surprising that he comes out here. It’s interesting that Torres is the first guy off the bench rather than Ryan, Pflueger, or Gibbs. It’s very possible Brey preferred to have the 6-7 Torres battle against Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan (26 points) rather than leave the job to Colson.

The move seems to pay off on the first possession. Swanigan chooses not to back down Torres and settles for a jumper.

2nd substitution, 12:48 1st half: Gibbs for Farrell, Pflueger for Beachem (Notre Dame 13, Purdue 11)

-(Gibbs, Pflueger, Colson, Vasturia, and Torres on floor) These are pretty typical substitutions for the Irish. Pflueger and Gibbs are averaging 19 and 14 minutes per game respectively. The Irish give up an easy offensive rebound and basket to Vince Edwards with two bigs on the floor, but Torres also battles Swanigan and forces him into an over the back foul. Overall, things are going fine. Thus, we have conventional substitutions.

3rd substitution, 12:16 1st half: Farrell-Beachem-Geben in, Colson-Vasturia-Torres out (Notre Dame 13, Purdue 13)

-(Farrell, Beachem, Geben, Pflueger, Gibbs on floor) This substitution was going to probably happen no matter what. Farrell and Beachem in particular don’t tend to rest long, and Colson had been in the whole game and was due a rest. But regardless of whether Geben was slated to check in, Brey might have felt the substitution necessary due to the play right before the substitution. Colson and Torres look pretty helpless trying to corral the 7-2 Isaac Haas, and all they can do is foul him. At 6-10, Geben is better suited for this matchup.

These substitutions also give Mike Brey the chance to use his first “one big” lineup thus far and see if this can give the offense a little boost.

Geben does a good job on his first matchup with Haas, not giving up ground and forcing him into a jumper.

The offensive executes well, and Geben defends Haas well in another instance.

4th substitution: 10:06 first half: Vasturia for Pflueger, Colson for Geben (Notre Dame 21, Purdue 13)

(Vasturia, Colson, Farrell, Beachem, Gibbs on floor) Now Mike Brey gets to check out his other one-big lineup with Colson at the 5. Although Geben comes off the floor, his nemesis Haas stays in the game, leaving the 6-5 Colson left to guard the 7-2 Haas. Purdue unsurprisingly goes right to Haas in the post on the first possession post-substitution.

Two possessions later, Purdue goes back to Haas, who settles for and misses a turnaround hook shot. With Colson guarding Haas away from the rim and the Irish playing a small lineup, no one is able to stop 6-8 Vince Edwards and 6-6 Basil Smotherthan from crashing the offensive glass.

Colson then misses a jumper rather than challenge Haas and then picks up a foul trying to guard a Haas post-up on the other end. At this point, it’s not surprising that Brey makes a substitution.

5th substitution: 8:26 1st half: Geben for Colson, Pflueger for Gibbs (Notre Dame 23 Purdue 17)

(Farrell, Vasturia, Geben, Pflueger, and Beachem on the floor) Brey likely brings in Geben to battle Haas, but Haas comes out of the game. The Irish spread the floor and run some good offense.

6th substitution: 7:05 1st half: Colson for Geben, Gibbs for Beachem (Notre Dame 28 Purdue 21)

(Colson, Gibbs, Farrell, Vasturia, Pflueger on the floor) With Haas out of the game, Brey likely feels comfortable bringing Colson right bak in. He’ll have to matchup with the 6-9 Swanigan, but he has a better chance of handling this matchup.

Colson picks up two quick buckets, clearly more comfortable attacking Swanigan. Purdue doesn’t really challenge the small Irish in the paint, and the Irish push the ball and hit some shots.

7th substitution: 4:46 1st half: Beachem/Ryan in, Pflueger/Gibbs out (Notre Dame 37 Purdue 25)

(Beachem/Ryan/Farrel/Vasturia/Colson on court) During the timeout, Purdue coach Matt Painter clearly told his team to get the ball to Swanigan and challenge the Irish inside.

After seeing this play, Brey immediately counters by making his 8th substitution, taking out Colson and putting Geben back in to deal with Swanigan’s interior play. Purdue goes back to Swanigan, who draws a foul on Geben. Geben gives up a few buckets the remainder of the half but makes things at least challenging for the Purdue bigs. On offense, the Irish play great, spreading the floor and hitting shots.

Mike Brey makes a few subs with 6 seconds left but I’m going to ignore them. The Irish end the half up 52-38.

The Irish start the second half with their starting lineup: Colson, Farrell, Geben, Beachem, and Vasturia. Purdue hits some shots and forces some turnovers, going on an 8-2 run to open the half. The Irish offense isn’t clicking early.

9th substitution: 17:49 2nd half: Pflueger for Geben (ND 54 Purdue 46)

(Farrell, Vasturia, Beachem, Colson, Pflueger on floor) Haas isn’t on the floor for Purdue, so Brey probably feels “okay” about putting Colson at the 5 against Swanigan. Also, the offense has had some bad possessions early in the half, and Pflueger provides a playmaking/shooting boost. With Geben out, Purdue decides to have the 6-9 Swanigan go right at Colson on the first possession post-substitution.

Colson goes right back at Swanigan on the offensive end, converting on an and-one, but then Brey makes another sub.

10th substitution: 16:37: Geben for Pflueger (ND 57 Purdue 50)

(Farrell/Vasturia/Colson/Geben/Beachem on floor) Brey clearly wants Geben in to battle Swanigan. The offense doesn’t come easy, but Colson and Farrell make some nice plays.

11th substitution: 14:27: Pflueger/Gibbs for Vasturia/Beachem (ND 61 Purdue 57)

(Farrell/Colson/Geben/Pflueger/Gibbs on court) Vasturia has just picked up his third foul.

12th substitution: 13:56: Torres for Geben (ND 63 Purdue 57)

(Farrell/Colson/Torres/Pflueger/Gibbs on floor) Geben has just picked up a foul guarding Haas but only his second. Perhaps Brey wants to give Torres a shot at Haas (Torres immediately fouls Haas).

13th substitution: 11:43: Beachem/Geben/Vasturia for Pflueger/Gibbs/Torres (ND 65 Purdue 62)

This is a conventional sub. The starting lineup is now on the court.

14th substitution: 10:16: Gibbs for Geben (ND 65 Purdue 67)

(Farrell/Beachem/Vasturia/Colson/Gibbs on floor) Purdue is hitting shots and the Irish aren’t running good offense, which is probably why Brey goes with a more dynamic one-big lineup. Colson takes advantage of the spacing to get a bucket in the lane, but then Purdue unsurprisingly goes right to Swanigan on their first possession post-sub.

Edwards gets an offensive rebound with Beachem and Vasturia in the vicinity and scores. The fact that Vasturia and Beachem aren’t elite rebounders at times makes the Irish’s interior deficiencies more difficult to handle.

15th substitution: 8:39: Pflueger/Geben in, Colson/Vasturia out (ND 69 Purdue 72)

(Gibbs/Pflueger/Geben/Beachem/Farrell on court) Brey likely again inserts Geben to help protect the interior. A minute later, Brey makes his “16th substitution” by bringing Vasturia back in for Pflueger and then seconds later, Colson in for Gibbs. The starters are back on the floor trailing 74-72 with 7:30 remaining.

The offense doesn’t look great. Purdue gets in the bonus and hits some free throws.

16th substitution: 6:31: Pflueger for Geben (ND 72-Purdue 78)

(Farrell/Vasturia/Beachem/Colson/Pflueger on floor) The team is down six and needs an offensive boost, which is likely why Brey makes this sub here. Colson has four fouls but stays in the game and gets a bucket on the first possession post-sub. But with Colson at the 5, Purdue again goes right to Swanigan.

17th substitution: 4:55: Torres for Pflueger (ND 77-Purdue 80)

Brey surely brings Torres in to guard Swanigan. Farrell, Torres, Beachem, Vasturia, and Colson are on the floor.

18th substitution: 4:35: Gibbs for Torres (ND 77 Purdue 80)

19th substitution: 2:17: Pflueger for Gibbs (ND 77 Purdue 80)

Colson, Farrell, Beachem, Vasturia, and Pflueger are on the floor. Purdue surprisingly doesn’t go right to Swanigan with Colson at the 5. They instead go to Edwards who is playing well but fails to score twice. Purdue then goes to Swanigan, who misses a pretty easy shot. Colson scores, then Swanigan scores on a defensive miscommunication.

Vasturia fouls out, brining in Matt Ryan for the 20th substitution. Purdue gets fouled and hits some free throws, putting them up 84-81 with under a minute to play. Ryan misses a three, Purdue hits more free throws, and the game is essentially over. The Irish lose 86-81.

What is the takeaway from all this?

It was interesting to try and get inside the head of Mike Brey and figure out his substitutions throughout the game. It was clear that Brey was trying to find the right balance between his smaller “offensive lineups” and his bigger “defensive lineups.” Every game will be different, and not every team will have Caleb Swanigan on it. But Brey will have to continue to walk this line once ACC play begins and for the remainder of the season. The Irish are a very good team, but these lineup challenges aren’t going away any time soon.