True Grit! Notre Dame Steals 51-49 Win At Syracuse
Never has such a non-pretty Notre Dame basketball game been so beautiful.
Despite a miserable first-half shooting performance, and without All-American Bonzie Colson (foot surgery) and star point guard Matt Farrell (ankle), the poised Fighting Irish calmly chipped away and prevailed with a 51-49 victory against Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. The full box score can be FOUND HERE.
It was Notre Dame’s first victory at Syracuse in its last six attempts, with the previous victory occurring Jan. 30, 2007.
Furthermore, the 13-3 Irish are now 3-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, joining Virginia and Clemson as the lone unbeaten units in the 15-team league.
With the score tied at 49 and Syracuse in possession for the final shot, Notre Dame’s defense forced a turnover with under 10 seconds left, resulting in senior Martinas Geben picking up the loose ball and firing a pass toward sophomore T.J. Gibbs near half-court. Gibbs managed to hold on to pass in traffic and drove aggressively to the basket. His off-balance shot missed, but junior Rex Pflueger, trailing the play, grabbed the rebound and laid in the winning points with 2.6 seconds remaining in front of a stunned crowd of 24,304 (the largest on-campus crowd in college basketball this season).
It was fitting that the game-winner came off an Irish offensive rebound, which was the story of the game. Notre Dame held an amazing 21-8 advantage on the offensive glass, resulting in 16 second-chance points, with Pflueger’s the exclamation point.
Three days earlier Irish head coach Mike Brey posted his record 394th victory as the men’s basketball coach, but 395 might be remembered even more.
“I just told our guys I’ve had a lot of great wins in 18 years — this is up there with any of them, given that we’re shorthanded, a lot of new guys, young guys,” Brey told the Notre Dame Basketball Network after the contest. “Everybody responded. We defended and rebounded to win today.
“…One of our great wins ever. I’m just so proud of this group. Twice now with Bonzie and Matty we just found a way to win.”
Minus the 37.3 combined scoring average of Colson and Farrell, Notre Dame struggled mightily with its shooting in the first, missing its first 10 field-goal attempts while falling behind 9-1. The marksmanship woes continued throughout the first half with the Irish finishing 6-of-29 (20.7 percent) from the floor (2-of-11 from three-point range), yet remained within striking distance while trailing only 28-19 at the intermission, even pulling within 15-12 at one point.
Gibbs helped keep Notre Dame in it while tallying 14 of the team’s 19 first-half points, including both treys. Despite a size disadvantage, the Irish grabbed 11 offensive rebounds but had only six second-chance points.
Dominating The Glass
In the second half, Notre Dame was far more effective at penetrating the basketball to find open looks inside against the Orange’s vaunted 2-3 zone.
Although the 40.7-percent shooting from the field in the second half (11-of-27) wasn't outstanding, it nearly doubled the 20.7-percent output in the first half. The Irish scored the first eight points of the second half, including threes by Pflueger and freshman D.J. Harvey, to narrow the gap to 28-27.
The contest remained tight thereafter, but Notre Dame was unable to take the lead until 2:25 was left when Gibbs converted two free throws for a 45-44 edge. A Geben offensive rebound and put-back basket extended the lead to 47-44, and two free throws by junior Elijah Burns with 58.9 seconds left put the lead back up to three again.
A Syracuse three knotted the game at 49-49, and they regained possession on a steal before the decisive closing seconds of the contest.
The story of the game was Syracuse entered the contest ranked No. 3 out of ACC teams in rebounding and No. 2 in offensive rebounds — but the Irish crushed the Orange on both counts, 42-27, but especially 21-8 on offense. That helped result in a 16-10 advantage in second-chance points, as well as a 24-18 lead in points in the paint.
Brey rotated his four big men — Geben, Burns, sophomore John Mooney and fifth-year senior Austin Torres — who pounded the boards relentlessly and boxed out well, highlighted by Geben’s career high 14 rebounds in 29 minutes, plus three steals.
“They were really fresh for us,” said Brey of the playing time with his big men.
Meanwhile, Gibbs and Pflueger took on the mantle of leadership from Colson and Farrell, with both playing all 40 minutes. Gibbs had a team high 18 points, four rebounds and four assists with only one turnover at point guard, while Pflueger tallied 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting (2-of-4 from three) seven rebounds (three on offense), and his usual strong defense.
It was the second time Pflueger made a game-winning basket off an offensive rebound through hustle. As a freshman in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, Pflueger tipped in a basket with 1.4 seconds left to lift the Irish to a 76-75 victory versus Stephen F. Austin, which advanced them to the Sweet 16 and eventually Elite 8 before losing to North Carolina.
“He continues to make winning plays,” Brey said.
Next up is a game at Georgia Tech on Wednesday, Jan. 10 (7 p.m. ESPNU). The Irish won the first meeting versus the Yellow Jackets, 68-59, in Purcell Pavilion, on Dec. 30.
Game Notes
• Syracuse shot 10-of-20 from the field in the first half for 50 percent, but in the second it was 8-of-26 (30.8 percent) while limited to 21 points. The 49 points allowed in the game are the fewest the Irish have given up in an ACC game in program history.
• While Geben notched a career high 14 rebounds, so did Harvey with nine, although the freshman did struggle with his shot in his first career league road game, finishing 1-of-14.
• Notre Dame is 12-0 this season when it outrebounds its opponent.
----
• Talk about it inside Rockne's Roundtable
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @BGI_LouSomogyi, @BGI_CoachD, @BGI_DMcKinney and @BGI_CoreyBodden.
• Like us on Facebook