Quick Hits: Notre Dame's 72-58 Win Over DePaul

Notre Dame is on the board in the 2017-2018 season after taking down DePaul 72-58 on the road.

It took a strong second half performance offensively, but the Irish will begin the season 1-0 before they host two home games against Mount St. Mary's (Nov. 13) and Chicago State (Nov. 16) next week. A trip to the Maui Invitation follows.

Here are some quick notes and stats from the win.

PLAY AND HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME

There may not have been a more important sequence than when DePaul attempted an alley oop with just under 16 minutes to go in the game down one.

DePaul blocked a Bonzie Colson shot with a chance to take its first lead and put Notre Dame on its heels early in the half.

But instead of an easy layup, DePaul went for a crowd pleasing alley oop and couldn’t connect. Notre Dame followed that sequence by forcing a turnover and knocking down back-to-back threes by TJ Gibbs and Matt Farrell to take a 37-30 lead at just under 15 minutes remaining.

The Blue Demons were never able to recover and trailed by more than four points the rest of the game.

It’s hard to predict whether that missed opportunity doomed a potential DePaul win, but it shifted momentum back to the Irish that was never returned.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Gibbs takes home the first BGI Player of the Game after scoring 12 points the second half on his way to a game-high 21 points on 7-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-7 from deep.

It was a career-high scoring performance for Gibbs. His previous high was 13 points in a road win over Virginia Tech this past January.

Notre Dame needs a player to become a consistent third scoring option behind Colson and Farrell and Gibbs may be that guy this season. He’s off to quite the start.

COLSON/FARRELL

The senior duo were really the only known commodities heading into the season for the Irish and they did not disappoint.

It was a tough first half for Farrell, but he bounced back knocking down 12 points in the second half en route to a 15-point performance on 5-of-11 shooting. All five makes were three-pointers (5-of-9).

Colson secured the first of potentially many double-doubles this season scoring 18 points and grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds. The senior also held his own defensively and dished out a game-high five assists.

THREE-POINT SURGE

Mike Brey said throughout the preseason his team may not be where many would expect in terms of outside shooting compared to past groups.

It seemed that would hold true after a 3-of-15 effort from behind the arc for the Irish in the first half. But things changed quickly.

The back-to-back threes by Gibbs and Farrell early in the half was the start of a blazing 9-of-12 second half performance to keep DePaul at bay. Notre Dame finished 12-of-27 (44 percent) from deep for the game.

It’s just one game, but the Irish showed they can still light it up from deep if necessary.

WHAT THE WIN MEANS

Pretty simple: Notre Dame is 1-0 to begin the season. That’s all the Irish can ask.

Most teams start the season against an overmatched mid-major program which allows for the opportunity to work out some kinks and find a groove.

But with the Irish starting on the road against former Big East rival DePaul in a new arena, Notre Dame didn’t have a chance to not play well and still secure a somewhat easy victory.

The Irish didn’t play well in the first half and it was a close contest. But, Brey’s group dug in and found a flow offensively to put DePaul away in the long and earn a tough win.

A victory such as this should give the Irish early confidence which is needed before the group heads to the Maui Invitational.

PLUS/MINUS

Matt Farrell: +17

TJ Gibbs: +16

Rex Pflueger: +7

Bonzie Colson: +14

Martinas Geben: +5

Elijah Burns: +1

DJ Harvey: +10

John Mooney: +3

OTHER STATS OF NOTE

Notre Dame held DePaul to 34 percent from the field (22-of-65) and 5-of-22 (23 percent) on threes.

DePaul forced nine Notre Dame turnovers while only committing four.

The Irish shot just 63 percent (10-of-16) from the free throw line.

Notre Dame won the rebounding matchup 40-36.

The Irish bested DePaul 11-6 in second chance points and in bench points 10-6.

DePaul held a 26-16 advantage in the paint.

Notre Dame never trailed in the game leading for 39 of a possible 40 minutes.

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