Irish Tame Wildcats

Posted on by Kevin O'Neill

Notre Dame beat Villanova by 21 points, and the game wasn’t nearly as close as the final score might indicate.

Carleton Scott hit a three point basket 28 seconds into the game, and the Irish never trailed the rest of the way  Ben Hansbrough and Tim Abromaitis led a 93 point scoring outburst with 30 points apiece including 16 of the team’s school record 20 threes.  Ty Nash celebrated his senior night with a double-double, and Hansbrough supplemented his scoring with 10 assists.

Meanwhile, Villanova was cold for 30 minutes before salvaging some dignity with 31 points over the last 8 minutes of the then out of reach game.  Corey Fisher led the Wildcats with 22 points, but 15 of his points came after ND stretched its lead to 30 at the 8:00 mark.

“That was impressive,” said Villanova head coach Jay Wright.  “That’s all that I can say about that.  I have to give them a lot of credit.  Hansbrough, I’d have to say that he’s the best I’ve seen so far.  We have to go home and relax and think about that.  That kid just dominated the game.  He did a great job against Corey Fisher.  He defended, controlled the tempo.  He made shots.  He got everyone else shots.  They’re good.  I was just very, very impressed with them.”

“To say we were ready to play would be an understatement,” said Mike Brey.  Our defense allowed them to not get confident driving the basketball.  Our offensive efficiency is part of our defense, and our offensive efficiency was off the charts tonight.  It was a great win for us.”

Nash summed it up more succinctly.  “We were mind-blowing,” he said.

The Irish clinched a double bye in the Big East tournament with Monday’s victory and kept their first place hopes alive.  They will need Villanova to win at Pittsburgh to have a chance to finish first.  Perhaps VU’s late scoring surge will help its confidence against Pitt.

Notre Dame took a 20 point lead to halftime.  Hansbrough had 16 points by then, and Abromaitis had 13 including 4 of his eventual 9 three point baskets.  Abromaitis’ three point tally tied Kyle McAlarney’s school record.

Villanova tried a full court press to get itself back into the game, but that just made it worse.  In addition to its hot shooting, 56% from the field and 63% from long range, ND took care of the ball and gave a passing clinic.  The Irish had assists on 23 of their 29 baskets.

Senior walk-on Tom Kopko perfected the game with a beautiful drive to the basket for the game’s final score with 0:33 left.  The crowd had been chanting for him from the 6:00 mark of the second half, and it erupted with appreciation when he delivered such a nice basket.

“I don’t think it could have ended any better,” Hansbrough said about ND’s final home game.  “Finishing undefeated at home was one of the goals we talked about before the season,  and for us to come out here and do that makes it all the more special.  To see how hard this group worked and how much dedication they’ve put into our goals is why I get so emotional.”

Noteworthy

  • Notre Dame’s victory clinched a double bye in the Big East Tournament.
  • In addition to setting the school record, ND’s 20 three point baskets tied the Big East record set by West Virginia in 2006.
  • The Irish had a 34-26 rebounding average.  Villanova entered the game with the Big East’s #2 rebounding margin.
  • If you ever had concerns about potential fifth year guys Abromaitis, Martin, and Scott returning, here’s their mindset.  None of the three took the opportunity to be recognized as seniors before the game.
  • Villanova’s next game is at Pittsburgh on Saturday.  CBS is broadcasting the game at 4:00.  If the Irish beat UConn earlier in the day, we’ll all be Wildcats fans for two hours.
  • A challenge for you… When was the last time, if ever, that ND had two players score 30 points in the same game?  I’ve been watching Fighting Irish basketball for about 40 years, and I can’t recall an instance in that time frame.

Next

#8 Notre Dame will visit #16 Connecticut on Saturday at 2:00PM Eastern Time.  The game will be on ESPN.

We’ll have a preview for you Friday evening.

– Kevin O’Neill

Categories

5 thoughts on “Irish Tame Wildcats”

  1. Scranton Dave says:

    What a great performance on senior night! What an enjoyable year of Irish hoops with student athletes playing together as a team. They have the coveted double bye and the game Saturday in Connecticut is almost a free game. It wont be considered a bad loss if they lose but they could gain if they win. Win Saturday and win the Big East Tournament and they could be a 1 seed in the NCAAs. Still work to be done and maybe just maybe they can get to heights in the Big East tourney and the NCAA tourney that we havent seen lately.

  2. Scranton Dave says:

    2006 At Seton Hall, Chris Quinn and Colin Falls both hit for over 30. It was a Saturday night game. That was the year where we lost all those heartbreakers.

  3. Kevin Casey says:

    My favorite double 30 plus was the 1971 Butler game. Sid Catlett (our center) missed the bus to Butler.
    Carr torched them for 50 and Collis Jones had 40. What a pair !!

  4. Nick Schoenfeld says:

    Going into this game I was of the opinion that despite the fact that the Big East is tough 1-16, we were not playing our best basketball heading in. I was also skeptical knowing that Nova was backed into a corner and needed the win, coupled with the anxiety that comes with senior night. Well…put those concerns to bed. We have to be playing our best team basketball heading into the tourney, and last night we showed that as of right now we are. With Nova’s Parameter D being one of the best in the country…I think it shows we are a chameleon of a team when we need to be. Our mid game adjustments are the best I’ve seen in a long time, and probably the best I’ve seen under Brey. He’s built this team, and I’m sold. Brey is our coach of the present, and the coach of our future. What a fun team this is to watch!