Notre Dame looks like team that was promised in blowout of Michigan State
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — So this is how it was supposed to look all along.
All those preseason promises about how far this Notre Dame men’s team could go – would go – seemed to go up in smoke on Friday against an average St. Bonaventure team in Elmont, N.Y. It was ND’s first loss after five uninspiring victories.
Then came Wednesday in Purcell Pavilion and a crowd of almost 8,000 – the year’s largest – saw what this seasoned Notre Dame men’s basketball team was talking about before the year’s first contest.
They had big aspirations in ACC league play and beyond, and an absolutely dominating 70-52 performance over perennial power and No. 20-ranked Michigan State (5-3) in the final year of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge may have proved why.
“I think we were due for one,” said the night’s biggest hero, Cormac Ryan, a grad student who never left the floor and went off for a season-high 23 points on 8-for-11 shooting. “I think we were still trying to find ourselves and we picked a good night to figure it out.”
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It has been a slow start for Ryan, who has played well defensively, but has struggled to find his shot and entered the game at just 22% from the 3-point line.
But figuring it out is always a little extra enjoyable in front of a loud home crowd, though the Spartans had a decent contingent of fans, along with a national television audience.
“Yeah, when you have a great crowd and everybody comes in – our students especially – you want to deliver for them. And we did, and hopefully that keeps them coming back,” said veteran Irish coach Mike Brey, whose club has won 20 of its last 21 home games and went 5-5 in the 10 years of the Challenge.
Notre Dame skeptics will need to see more to believe this team’s for real.
Which is understandable seven games into the season and given the struggles it has had in the first three weeks.
But when this team moves, gets open, hits shots, mans the boards and plays aggressive and smart team defense, there can be more big nights.
“They played awfully well,” said Michigan State’s legendary coach Tom Izzo, in his 28th year at MSU. “Mike did a hell of a job. They were way better defensively. Now, if I was Mike, I'd be mad at those first five (six actually) games, personally. I mean, I'd be really mad about those first five games, but maybe he did it to trick me.
“In that case, it worked. Because that was not at all the same team that I bet you guys covered the first six games.”
Almost unrecognizable actually.
The first half is one this group will be talking about when they gather for reunions.
“Listen, I don't know if God could have covered a few of those shots (the Irish made),” Izzo said. “I mean, give them credit. They made some shots and deserved what they got. If they shoot like that and get you know a guy or two back, they're going to be a very good team.”
This is close to what a perfect half looks like.
– Even after Izzo warned his club that Ryan was ND’s “most dangerous player,” the 6-5 guard goes 5-for-5 from beyond the 3-point line, each shot it seems deeper than the previous one. The Irish hit 8-of-13 for 61.5% against a team and program known for its rugged defensive play.
– The Irish don’t commit their first turnover until 2:49 remaining in the half.
– They collect 17 rebounds to Michigan State’s 14.
– They limit Michigan State, a team with wins over Kentucky and Villanova and with a one-point loss to Gonzaga, to 37 percent shooting, 28.6% from 3-point range.
“We talked about playing right and we played right on both ends of the floor for 40 minutes,” Brey said. “I thought our defense was fabulous, and really kind of set the tone for us.’’
That effort in the first half produced a stunning and wildly unexpected 42-24 lead.
Still a half to play, Izzo usually figures out something after the break.
And for a brief time, he did find a few mismatches inside, with A.J. Hoggard scoring eight in the second half to finish with 15. Mady Sissoko’s bucket with 9:18 to go made it 54-40, but the Irish recalibrated their defense and shut out the Spartans over the next 3:16.
In the meantime, Dane Goodwin (12 points) hit a fadeaway in the lane to get it to 16, Nate Laszewski (nine points, eight rebounds), hit a 3 and got free for a dunk. Suddenly, it was 61-40 with just under seven minutes to play. It grew to match the largest lead of the night at 23 (63-40).
The latter part of the second half included a couple of highlight blocks from ND’s heralded 6-4 freshman guard, JJ Starling, who is finding his comfort zones on both ends of the floor.
Brey thought he “played like a junior tonight.”
Though he was 0-for-7 from 3-point range, he was 6-for-7 around the rim and paint and got big rises from the crowd with his blocks.
“I've been watching film and just picking up certain rotations that I need to make,” Starling said of his defense. “I knew to do that towards the end of the game (to get the blocks). That's what I'm trying to hone in on because I know I can get it done offensively, but defense will win games.”
Notre Dame was allowing offenses to score at a 46% pace coming in, but held the Spartans to 38.9 overall and 33.3% from the 3-point line for the game.
There certainly will be better days ahead for MSU, which was picked to finish fourth in the 14-team Big Ten.
The Spartans, who are still missing 12-point scorer Malik Hall with a foot injury, played in the Phil Knight Legacy Invitational in Portland, Oregon last weekend, finishing up Sunday with a narrow win over Portland.
Izzo went out of his way not to use fatigue as an excuse, but he did believe the lack of practice time was an issue.
And there were other issues. Guard Tyson Walker, averaging 15.6 points, had 12 points but was 4-for-13 from the field.
“In fairness to him, he found out after a pregame meal that a close family member had died — he was going through pre-game in tears,” Izzo said.
Notre Dame gets to make another pitch of its potential to a national audience when it hosts Syracuse (3-4) at noon Saturday on ESPN2.
Niagara grad transfer Marcus Hammond is set to make his season debut which has been delayed by a knee injury.
Through 25 practices, Hammond was the most efficient offensive player on the floor, per Brey. The 6-4 guard will mean a lot to expanding what has been a six-player rotation.
Brey also said that freshman Ven-Allen Lubin will no longer have to wear a protective facemask in the next game.
“I said five old guys and the two young guys, if we can keep that seven moving, I think we’ve got a chance,“ Brey said. “And so we're getting close to getting those seven together.”
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