Notre Dame Basketball Grinds Out 61-57 Win At Clemson
Heading to Clemson Sunday after six straight games scoring at least 75 points, and with four wins in the bank because of it, Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey kept it no secret that the secret to his team’s recent success was its ability to outscore its opponents.
And that’s what makes the ugly 61-57 win at Littlejohn Coliseum over the Tigers so beautiful.
Notre Dame got a season-high 18 points from senior guard Rex Pflueger — which included what was essentially a game-winning three-point bomb with one minute left in the game — to lift the Irish to an unusual win in a low-scoring game.
“My mentality going in was that it might be an ugly win,” Pflueger said immediately afterward and shortly before boarding a flight for a game Tuesday at Virginia, “but we gotta fight no matter what it is.”
This critical win — Notre Dame’s third on the road this season — came against an opponent that had recorded quality home victories this season against Duke, Syracuse and NC State, though it played Sunday without its leading scorer and rebounder, junior forward Aamir Simms.
“I am very proud of our group to get a road win,” Brey added, “and to do some tough stuff at the end to escape with a win in this league.”
Not much stayed on script Sunday night from recent games with some sloppy stretches and only three Irish players scoring in double figures.
Notre Dame — the most efficient passing team in the country — turned the ball over 11 times with only 14 assists.
Sophomore guards Prentiss Hubb and Dane Goodwin entered play scoring 26.5 points a game but combined for only seven points on 2-of-12 shooting.
The Irish (15-8; 6-6 ACC) lost the bench battle 19-6 to Clemson (11-12; 5-8) but still managed to pull out a crucial win in the first stop on a difficult three-game road stretch — a fourth straight ACC victory that brought Notre Dame back to .500 in conference play after starting 1-4.
The game featured seven ties and nine lead changes — and 62 three-point shots — but Notre Dame’s defense in the last five minutes of the game was the winning edge.
With the game tied 50-50, the Irish held Clemson to five points and one field goal on its last eight possessions — that field goal being a three-pointer at the buzzer that did nothing but cut the final Irish winning margin from seven to four points.
“I thought our defense down the stretch was really good,” Brey said. “We were in good position.”
Irish senior forward John Mooney recorded his 19th double-double of the season and the 40th of his career with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Senior guard T.J. Gibbs extended his double-digit scoring streak to 10 games with 10 points.
Player of the Game: With only three points from Hubb, Pflueger’s production couldn’t have come at a better time. The senior captain’s 18 points — two short of his career high — came on 6-of-8 shooting and 4-of-4 from three-point range.
Turning Point: With the game tied 43-43 and 5:54 remaining, Mooney recorded a four-point play on a made three-pointer and foul shot that gave the Irish the lead for good.
Revisiting Rex
Pflueger is forever appreciated more for his defensive and intangible work than his scoring offense.
But his 18 points, four rebounds and two assists were greatly needed on a night when the Irish scored the fewest points in a win this season and the fewest points in the last 11 games since a 62-60 loss to Indiana.
“I was really thrilled for him. Nobody deserves it more,” Brey said. “The kid wants it so bad and his leadership in the huddles down the stretch, fabulous.”
Pflueger hit the clutch three with 1:07 remaining that pushed the Irish lead to 57-52 and made it a two-possession game, but his nine points the first half were equally important as the Irish struggled to score.
State of the Union
With two more difficult road games up next at Virginia and at Duke, the importance of beating Clemson becomes magnified because it puts Notre Dame in a tie with NC State for sixth place in a 15-team ACC that is unlikely to get more than six NCAA Tournament bids this season.
We felt before this three-game road swing that if Notre Dame would:
*Win just one of these three, the Irish (6-8) would still remain somewhat relevant when the future schedule provides promise for a strong finish.
*Win two, and Notre Dame (7-7) would become very much in the hunt for a strong finish and some NCAA Tournament consideration.
*Win three, and the Irish (8-6) can start to talk seeding rather than watch bubbles.
Up Next: Notre Dame doesn’t get a break or much rest as it returns to action Tuesday with a trip to Charlottesville, Va., (9 p.m., ESPN2) for a game against reigning national champion Virginia.
At 15-7 overall and 7-5 in the ACC, this isn’t last year’s Virginia team, but the program remains arguably the biggest thorn for Brey during his 20 years coaching the Irish.
Brey is only 1-7 against Virginia and its head coach Tony Bennett, including a 60-54 loss at Charlottesville last season in a game the Irish played well but came up short for their second straight loss to Virginia.
The lone victory for Brey against Bennett came in the quarterfinal round of the 2017 ACC Tournament, a victory that helped propel Notre Dame to the conference championship game where it lost against Duke.
These two programs also played six times between 1981-92 before Bennett and Brey arrived, with Virginia winning five of those.
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