Notre Dame Basketball Hits February with More Questions Than Wins - But Also, Quiet Hope
SOUTH BEND - The calendar has flipped, and with it, the tone of the college basketball season shifts. October was promise.
November was potential. December was development.
January? That was a grind.
Now it's February - the final full month before March Madness, when dreams are either realized or shelved.
For Notre Dame and head coach Micah Shrewsberry, February isn’t just another month. It’s the last stretch of meaningful reps, the final runway before the postseason takes off - and for a young, still-learning team, it might just be the most important month of the year.
“The season has blown by,” Shrewsberry said this week on the ACC Coaches Zoom call. “January blew by despite it being one degree and a billion inches of snow out here.”
That’s a little humor to soften the reality: January wasn’t kind to the Irish. Notre Dame went 1-7 over the month, and now sits at 11-11 overall, 2-7 in conference play.
The Irish are limping into February, and up next is a road trip to No. 23 Louisville - not exactly a soft landing.
But Shrewsberry isn’t looking for shortcuts. He’s looking for growth. And despite the record, he’s still finding it.
This isn’t a veteran-laden squad with fifth-year seniors chasing their last dance. It’s a roster built on youth, still figuring out how to play together, how to win together, and how to respond when the road gets bumpy - which it certainly has.
But that youth also means upside. Potential.
And in February, that matters.
Wing guard Jalen Haralson has the tools to be one of the best freshmen in the country - even if he’s flying under the radar nationally. Sophomore Cole Certa is starting to find his rhythm as a college guard.
Freshman forward Brady Koehler is coming into his own. Sophomore Garrett Sundra looks like he’s turned a corner.
There’s a team in there. A good one. It’s just not fully formed yet.
Every day in practice, someone does something that catches Shrewsberry’s eye - a flash of what could be. And that’s what’s keeping this team going, even as the losses pile up.
“You’ve got to find ways to have that positivity during this time,” Shrewsberry said. “Even in the tough moments, you’ve got to find positive things that you can grow from and build from.”
That’s the tightrope walk of February for a team like Notre Dame. This is the part of the season where teams either lean into the process or check out.
Shrewsberry knows it. The players know it.
The challenge now is to keep showing up and getting better, regardless of the standings.
Since opening ACC play on December 30 at Stanford, the Irish have dropped seven of eight. Their last three conference road games?
All double-digit losses. Matching last year’s eight league wins - or even the seven from Shrewsberry’s first season - is going to be a tall order.
But the scoreboard doesn’t tell the whole story. Not for this team.
“Our growth as a group, our connectivity as a group,” Shrewsberry said when asked where the positives lie. “There are little things that I still think we can get better at that will make a difference in the rest of our season.”
That’s the thing about young teams. They’re not finished products.
They’re still cooking. And while an older team with a .500 record in February might be out of steam, this one still has room to grow - and the desire to do it.
“We still have guys that have growth left, and you’re seeing it in these steps,” Shrewsberry said. “That gives you something that you can lean on and build from.”
So no, Notre Dame isn’t knocking on the door of the NCAA Tournament. Not yet.
But they’re not closing the book on the season either. February is here, and for the Irish, it’s not just about the games left on the schedule - it’s about the progress they can still make.
One day at a time. One game at a time. And for this group, one final month to keep building.