When a shooter's mind wanders, his shot often wanders with it.

And based on Notre Dame's recent shooting, it appears their minds have been wandering quite a bit.

"When you start missing, your confidence changes," guard Matt Carroll said. "You have to start worrying about going out there and making them rather than just going out there and shooting with a clear head."

Notre Dame's success is directly tied to their 3-point shooting. In their 12 wins, the Irish have shot over 44 percent from behind the arc. But in their six losses, the Irish hit just 30 percent of their 3-point shots.

"A pretty jump shot, those shots are over in league play," Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said. "Shooting a jump shot and looking at your form, that's not going to happen. Not in this league."

Life on the court has been particularly rough for Irish point guard Chris Thomas recently. Before Big East play started, a red-hot Thomas made 45 percent of all his shots. But since Jan. 6, the freshman has shot just 27 percent overall. And in the last three games, he is just 4-of-23 from 3-point range.

David Graves is in a similar slump. In his last five games, Graves shot 15-for-55 from the field. And after starting the Georgetown game 1-for-9, Brey pulled the senior forward out for good with 11:33 left in the game.

It's tough to pinpoint the source of Notre Dame's shooting woes. But it's even tougher to figure out how to stop it. The key, Carroll said, is to just keep shooting.

"Half the battle of shooting is mental," he said. "You gotta understand it's a long game, and when it's not falling in the first half, you gotta keep shooting, or you're not going to stay confident."

Carroll understands the emotions swirling through Graves' and Thomas' minds. Early in the year, Carroll had trouble finding his shot, even going scoreless against Indiana. But Brey kept him on the court and in the starting lineup and Carroll broke out of his slump.

Brey would prefer to keep his shooters in the game. But he's not afraid to make a change in the starting lineup to shake things up. Last year, after a struggling Irish team lost their fifth game of the season against Kentucky, Brey moved Harold Swanagan to the starting lineup and Graves to the bench. The move paid off. Graves regained his confidence and the Irish reeled off and eight-game win streak.

"We may still move the lineup around again," Brey said last week without mentioning any specific plans.

Nevertheless, the Irish are confident their perimeter shooters will deliver as the season progresses.

"I've been around Matt and Dave for three years now, and they're the best shooters I've seen," said senior Ryan Humphrey. "There's times in practice when they hit five, six in a row. I have confidence in them, and when they start knocking down shots, then it'll be exciting to see us play."

Note:

Harold Swanagan, who re-aggravated an ankle sprain and missed Monday night's game, underwent a MRI Tuesday.

The senior forward's ankle has affected his play since Notre Dame's Dec. 27 game against Alabama.

"He's not moving the same, he's not rebounding the same. He's a little frustrated," Brey said. "We've got to get him healthy ... Hopefully he'll feel better for Saturday, but if he's not better for Saturday, we'll hold him out there, too."

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