By: Evan J. Thomas
South Bend, IN -- Seven straight losses was a tough few weeks for the Notre Dame Men's Basketball (8-16, 3-10 ACC) team but Saturday night it all ended as Markus Burton dropped 16 points along with eight assists and six steals in a 74-66 victory over Virginia Tech Hokies to snap that losing streak. Braeden Shrewsberry tallied 12 points and Kebba Njie added 11 for the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame shot 49% from the field and 35% from 3 point range. Irish defense held Va Tech to 43% from the field and had 8 steals and held the boards with 34 to 28. A Valentine's Day home matchup is next on the agenda for the Irish as they take on Georgia Tech.
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J.R. Konieczny led Notre Dame (7-13, 2-7) with 15 points, Braeden Shrewsberry scored all of his 14 points in the second half and Markus Burton dropped in 10 and dished out seven assists in the 61-58 loss.
Boston College (12-8, 3-6 ACC) shot 32% in the first half and hit 59% in the second half; 44% for the game. On the other hand the Irish struggled from the field shooting a mere 36% and 30% from long distance. Devin McGlockton tallied 15 points, Jaeden Zackery made several key plays in the final minute and finished with nine points and five rebounds. Notre Dame will play at Virginia on Wednesday. Wednesday night at Purcell Pavillion saw the Notre Dame Fighting Irish donning their green jerseys for the first time in the Micah Shrewsberry era but those jerseys weren't as lucky as they had hoped.
Miami Hurricanes (13-6, 4-4 ACC) forward Norchad Omier dropped a season-high 33 points and snagged 10 rebounds in a 73-61 victory. After a spirited halftime speech from legendary Irish coach Digger Phelps to the Irish faithful, The Fighting Irish opened the second half on an 11-2 run and took a one-point lead with 15 minutes remaining. Notre Dame took its final lead at 52-49 on a 3-pointer by J.R. Konieczny with 9 1/2 minutes to go. The Irish made three baskets in the final 9 1/2 minutes. Irish guard Markus Burton led the team with 15 points and Konieczny added 13 for Notre Dame (7-12, 2-6). Braeden Shrewsberry finished with 10 off the bench. The Hurricanes swept the season series. Notre Dame hosts Boston College on Saturday. Boston College defeated Notre Dame 63-59 on Monday. BY: EVAN J. THOMAS
Markus Burton scored all six of Notre Dame’s points in overtime but had his three point attempt with seconds left blocked by Supreme Cook as Georgetown defeated the Irish 72-68 in overtime on Saturday at the Joyce Center. Burton missed a potential game winning three point heave from 3/4 court that would have won the game for the Irish. Burton finished the game 6 of 20 from the field with 17 points. Julian Roper II and J.R. Konieczny adde 13 points each and Braeden Shrewsberry had 10 points off the bench for the Irish. This was the first meeting between the 2 schools and former Big East rivals since January 21, 2013. Notre Dame plays The Citadel on Tuesday, the second of six straight home games. Days after losing WR Chris Tyree to the transfer portal, Notre Dame Sophomore WR Tobias Merriweather joins him.
NOTRE DAME CRUSHES STANFORD RECAP: Brett Cagle recaps the Irish 56-23 regular season finale11/29/2023 The Fighting Irish finished their regular season on a high note Saturday beating Pac-12 opponent Stanford on the road. Notre Dame fell behind after a first-quarter field goal and a touchdown run by Tiger Bachmeier extended the Cardinal's lead to 13-7. Audric Estime was a workhorse for the Irish on Saturday rushing for 248 yards and four touchdowns. Notre Dame was able to find success on the ground throughout this contest rushing for 381 yards as a team. At halftime, Stanford trailed 28-16.
Three straight unanswered scores in the third quarter blew this game wide open as Estime found the endzone twice in the quarter. Senior Quarterback Sam Hartman only completed 8 passes on the day but two of them went for scores. Hartman found Jaden Greathouse in the second quarter for a 15-yard score. In the second half, Hartman again found the endzone through the air connecting with Jordan Faison for a 45-yard touchdown. The Notre Dame defense was a strong point the entire season. On Saturday the Irish defense once again stepped up, only allowing one Stanford score in the second half. The Cardinals amassed over 300 yards of total offense but were unable to keep up with Notre Dame’s high-powered offense. The Irish finished their regular season at 9-3 and will await their bowl bid. Coach Marcus Freeman and the team responded well after the loss to Clemson, defeating their next two opponents by over 30 points. Although many Notre Dame fans had expectations of making the playoffs early in the year, this 2023 team showed resilience after multiple frustrating losses. It will be interesting to see who the Fighting Irish get matched up with during bowl season. BY: BRETT CAGLE
Notre Dame fell to 7-3 on the season after Saturday’s deflating road loss to Clemson. Tigers Head Coach Dabo Swinney was enthusiastic after the victory stating “If Clemson’s a stock u better buy all you freaking can buy right now. Let’s go!” Going into this matchup Irish fans knew any Clemson team could be dangerous, especially at home, but Notre Dame seemed to come out flat, settling for field goals before Quarterback Sam Hartman threw a costly second-quarter pick six. Notre Dame trailed 24-9 at Halftime which proved to be too much to overcome. In the second half, Running back Audric Estime scored from two yards out to cut the game to eight points. After each team swapped touchdowns, including a 26-yard Sam Harman rushing Touchdown, Clemson gave Notre Dame the ball back with a costly fumble in Irish territory. Again Notre Dame was unable to capitalize and would fall on the road 31-23 to their ACC opponent. This loss to a statistically “down” Clemson team brought on many questions surrounding the program. In both of Notre Dame’s Road losses, Quarterback Sam Hartman had trouble turning the ball over. With Three interceptions against Louisville and two last weekend, Hartman has made game-altering mistakes in two of the last four contests. Offensive consistency is a huge question mark right now, as Notre Dame looked tremendous at times over the season. Entering the game as large betting favorites, the Irish dropped their second straight game on the road. With their playoff hopes crushed and Quarterback Sam Hartman in his final year, Irish fans don’t have much to look forward to this season but the school's biggest question remains… will Head Coach Marcus Freeman be back in 2024? After failing to meet expectations that were set on the team early in the year, Freeman’s job may be in jeopardy if things don’t turn around this season. Defensively, Notre Dame allowed many big plays including a 41-yard touchdown to Phil Mafah in the first quarter. Mafah rushed for 186 yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries. Clemson struggled through the air with Quarterback Cade Klubnik only throwing for 109 yards on the day. This was certainly a disappointing performance for Notre Dame who will look to bounce back with a win against Wake Forest on November 18th. After defeating USC by 28 points in week 8, the Fighting Irish responded with another impressive victory last weekend. The defense and special teams of Notre Dame looked tremendous in this blowout win at home. A Chris Tyree 82-yard punt return touchdown got Notre Dame on the board in the first quarter. In the second quarter junior running back Audric Estime scored his first of three touchdowns on the day. Following Estime’s 15-yard rushing touchdown, kicker Spencer Shrader made a 23-yard field goal to make the score 17-0 before the half.
The second half was completely controlled by Notre Dame, who outscored Pitt 41-7 in the final two quarters. The Pittsburgh offense was held to only 53 yards rushing on the day and had trouble moving the ball downfield through the contest. The Fighting Irish defense forced five turnovers Saturday. ND Quarterback Sam Hartman also uncharacteristically turned the ball over twice against Pitt and has now thrown five interceptions in his last three games. Offensively Notre Dame compiled 535 total yards in this matchup. 114 of those yards were contributed by star running back Audric Estime on the ground. Estime is nearing the 1,000-yard mark on the season for rushing and has an impressive 6.2 yards per carry. With 12 touchdowns on the season, Estime has been a key part of the team’s success on offense. Following the win Irish Head Coach Marcus Freeman talked with the media about next week's opponent Clemson “I view Clemson as one of the premier programs in college football. And what Coach Swinney has done with that program over the course of his time there has been second to no other program in college football. It’s extremely impressive This crushing victory for the Irish will help build confidence heading into a road matchup with ACC opponent Clemson (4-4) this weekend. Last year ND defeated the Tigers 35-14, but Head Coach Dabo Swinney and Clemson will always be a formidable opponent. BY: BRETT CAGLE
Preview and Predicion: #21 Notre Dame (5-2) vs. #10 USC (6-0) Notre Dame comes into this contest following back-to-back sub par performances on the road against ranked opponents. Duke and Louisville are in the middle of historic years for their programs and are both featured in the top twenty of the College Football Rankings. Last week against Louisville, Quarterback Sam Hartman uncharacteristically threw three interceptions in a game the Irish were outscored 26-13 in the second half. The Notre Dame defense allowed 330 yards of offense, with 185 coming on the ground. Entering this game with undefeated USC, “The Fighting Irish” have many questions to answer surrounding their team. Offensively, Notre Dame has not scored over 21 points in a game since week four of the season. This is a staggering statistic considering the team averaged over 40 points PPG to start the first four weeks of the year. While Sam Hartman had an underwhelming game last week it was his only game with interceptions on the season. Hartman (16 TDs, 3 INTs) still has an impressive touchdown touchdown-to-interception rate. Up front, Notre Dame struggled against the Cardinals only rushing for 40 yards as a team. Starting Running Back Audric Estime rushed 10 times for only 20 rushing yards. If Notre Dame wants to have success this weekend they will have to establish some sort of running game. USC star Quarterback Caleb Williams and Head Coach Lincoln Riley have one of the most feared offenses in the nation. 2022 Heisman winner Caleb Williams has thrown for over 1,800 yards in the first six weeks. While doing so, Williams has contributed 22 touchdown passes to the Trojans high powered offense. Two of William’s top targets are Senior wide receivers Tahj Washington and Brendan Rice. Both Rice and Washington have over 400 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Head Coach Marcus Freeman is under pressure right now after starting the season 4-0. It is amazing how fast things can change in the world of college football. The Irish just weeks ago were playoff hopefuls with an emerging transfer Quarterback. Now Coach Freeman is fighting for his job while the Irish try to become bowl-eligible this weekend. Players to Watch (Notre Dame): (QB) Sam Hartman- 16 passing TDs, 3 Interceptions, 1,712 Passing yards. (TE) Mitchell Evans- 22 Receptions, 343 total yards, 1 Touchdown. (WR) Chris Tyree- 14 Receptions, 293 receiving yards, 2 Touchdowns. Players to Watch (USC): (QB) Caleb Williams- 22 Passing Touchdowns, 1 Interception, 1,822 Passing Yards. (RB) MarShawn Loyd- 67 Carries, 519 Yards, 4 Touchdowns. (WR) Brendan Rice- 21 Receptions, 434 Yards, 7 Touchdowns. |
AuthorEvan J. Thomas is an award winning photographer, podcast & Radio host, media mogul and all around "Creative Genius". Archives
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